Challenging Fate
by ihavealifeiswear
Summary: In a continuation of An Unexpected Twist, Aria finds out that Toby is A. Through death, disappearances, and drama, can Sparia's friendship and Spoby's relationship survive the struggle to find Ali's killer, the identity of A, and the answer to the question, Who controls their fates? Themselves, or A? This is my opus mangum, so please review!
1. A Late Night Adventure

Aria's hummed to herself as she strolled down the hallway to her locker on a chilly Thursday November night. She had left her physics textbook in her locker and needed to study for a big test the next day. The school was completely deserted at 9 PM, but she had gotten in using her mother's key to the building. It was a perk of having her mother be the head of the English department. It helped compensate for the sucky parts, like never being able to be yourself around friends, or having your mom ask you ridiculous questions about school gossip, or those awkward moments when she gives you a pop quiz and you fail and you start crying and EVERYONE sees.

Aria kicked the thoughts out of her mind and broke into a jog. She was grateful that she had made it into school before the alarm was set. It wouldn't be very long before it went off, and she would die of embarassment if she set it off. It had only bet set off a handful of times since Caleb stopped squatting here, all by lame kids or neighborhood drunks. Finally, she was just around the corner from her locker.

Aria stopped before she reached her locker, suddenly seeing someone around the corner. She had been on edge for the last week, ever since the disaster on Halloween. _Being drugged and locked in a tiny box with a corpse can do that to you_, she thought to herself. The cops still hadn't figured out what exactly had happened, but she was pretty sure that it A killed Garrett and just threw her in there to shake her up.

That night had been one of the worst of her life, second only to when Ezra died. She really thought she was going to die, and feelings like that don't go away quickly. People kept asking her if she was okay and she always told them yes, but deep down she knew that she wasn't. After her parents divorcing, Ezra dying, and nearly getting killed herself, she wasn't sure if she would ever be okay again. She wasn't sure how much fear and stress she would be able to take.

She was so grateful that her boyfriend Holden wasn't on the train that night. In the terrible month since Ezra had died, he had been an angel sent from heaven. Holden was everything that she could ever want- loving, caring, honest, attentive, and ignorant to everything that was happening in her life. He honestly thought that what happened on Halloween was some kind of prank on her, and that whoever put her in there had no idea that there was a corpse in the same box. Aria loved how optimistic and loving he could be, and it was very refreshing to not have a guy mixed up in her crazy life.

Yet, there was something off about their relationship. It could have been because she still was in love with Ezra, but there was something going on between them that she couldn't place. She just didn't love him like she loved Ezra. It would come in time, she was sure, but there just wasn't any magic between them yet. In two months of dating, they hadn't even gotten to second base yet. But Aria knew that sometimes, relationships would take work. Holden was crazy about her, and her love for him would show up one day when she least expected it.

She watched the lone figure darting around the hallways. She panicked for a second and grabbed her phone, ready to call 911, but she saw that it was only Toby, clad in dark clothing and gloves. She was about to ask what he was doing at school so late, but she stopped herself when she saw what he was doing. She peered around the corner silently as the scene unfolded in front of her eyes.

He was slowly and methodically trying to open Spencer's locker with some plastic card, probably his ID. When it clicked open, he pushed around a few books until there was space for the small, black box that he had in his hand. He set the box down in the empty space with a big, goofy smile on his face and closed the locker. Then, he walked away in the opposite direction, casually and carefree.

Aria stopped breathing. She recognized the box. It was identical to the one that Ezra had presented to her on his hospital bed on the day that he died. It was the same box that could be seen behind the counter in Rocks, the fancy jewelry store in town where most guys got engagement rings. It looked just about the size for a small ring. She remembered Toby casually asking Aria what kind of jewelry Spencer liked about a week ago and what her ring size was, but what was the occasion?

Then, she remembered tomorrow's date: November 6th. It was the day after Hanna had camped out with Caleb, the day after Spencer had slept in the motel with Toby. Their anniversary. Aria clasped her hand over her mouth so she didn't squeal. Was that an engagement ring? She knew how in love he and Spencer were, but it was so soon. They were both so young. Then again, they were pretty serious. It could very well be a diamond ring-

_Probably not_, she thought. _It's just an anniversary gift. But must be really nice. That story is fancy, and Toby is on a carpenter's salary._ She dashed around the corner to locker, grabbed her textbook, and walked giddily out the door. She couldn't wait to see the look on Spencer's face when she went to her locker next morning. More importantly, she couldn't wait to see how happy Spencer was going to be.

Aria couldn't have been any more wrong. Because the next morning, Spencer would not be happy at all. She wouldn't be happy again for the next few months, not until after she took a trip very far away. Everything was just beginning to be set into motion, little known to anyone, especially not Spencer, and especially not Aria. If they'd known, they would have run to each other and held each other close.

But they didn't know. So, Aria blindly grabbed her textbook and went home to study. Spencer was already studying, alone in her bedroom. Neither was aware of their fates shifting around them, all because of that little black box.


	2. A RevelAtion

Aria, Spencer, Hanna, and Emily all walked down the hallway before 1st period started the following morning. "Do any of you guys want to see the new Emma Stone movie tonight?" Emily asked offhandedly. "I was going to hang out with Paige, but she has to fly out of town for her cousin's wedding."

"Sorry, Em. Toby is taking me out to dinner somewhere fancy in Philly," Spencer said, trying to hide her excitement.

"In Philly?" said Emily with excitement. Fancy dinners didn't mean much usually for Spencer, but if Toby was taking her somewhere pricy, it must be important. They all knew he was on carpenter's salary, but he did like to splurg on special occasions.

"It's our anniversary today," Spencer explained with a smile. "He said he has something big planned. I have no idea." Spencer blushed, and Aria looked away, trying to hide her smile. It had taken every ounce of strength to not spill what she had seen last night. She hadn't told a soul, not wanting to ruin everyone's surprise.

Suddenly, the 5-minute warning bell rang. They were running a few minutes late. Spencer looked at her watch, groaned, and said, "I have a French test and can't be late. I'll see you guys later."

"But don't you need to go to your locker?" Aria pressed eagerly, trying to be gentle. She wanted to be there when Spencer saw what was inside.

"No, I have everything I need. I'll just go later."

"C'mon, we've got time," said Aria, yanking her down the hallway. Spencer shrugged and strolled over to her locker. Emily and Hanna chattered as Spencer moved the dial on the lock around until it popped open. Aria pressed her lips together tightly so that she wouldn't giggle with excitement. Everyone saw the little black box at the same moment. Hanna, Emily, and Spencer looked at it questioningly while Aria's smile grew to take up half her face.

Aria tried her hardest not to jump up and down with glee as Spencer picked it up and opened it. She held it close so that Aria couldn't see what was inside.

"What's that?" asked Emily. Aria looked closely at Spencer's face, waiting for the surprise, the smile, the something. But strangely, Spencer looked pale. She picked up a tiny piece of paper that had been resting in the box and read the message on it out loud:

"'Shiny things and fancy dinners are pricey, but so are court fines and bail money. If Toby knew what a bitch you are, would he still throw down the cash? -A." Spencer then showed them what was in the box: a tiny plastic shovel, mounted on a silver band like a ring.

While Emily and Hanna looked at Spencer sympathetically, Aria was puzzled. What had happened to the box Toby put there? Had A come and swapped out the boxes? That would have to have meant that A was in the school sometime after Toby had put the box in the locker. But they locked the doors just after Aria left. Her mind was racing, but suddenly, Spencer slid the ring on her finger.

"It's a perfect fit," she said with a chuckle. "At least we know that A is considerate enough to get something that's my ring size"

Emily and Hanna smiled weakly at her, amazed that she could make a joke. But Aria's blood went cold. How could A possible know her ring size? How could A know that Toby was putting the box in her locker? Aria knew that the janitors left at 8:45 and that the alarm went on at 9:30, leaving time for teachers to get last minute stuff. She would have definitely seen anyone who had been through-

_NO_.

It _COULDN'T_ be.

"Aria? Are you okay?" asked Emily. But it sounded fuzzy. Her friends looked at her questioning as the world began to spin. Angry texts appeared in front of her eyes, and she saw a black hoodie dash around the corner. Everything became blurry and the room started spinning. Her friends looked at her questioningly and tried to snap her out of it, but suddenly, she went down. There was pain, and then, everything went black.

* * *

When Aria woke up, she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. Her head was throbbing and she placed her hand on the back of her head on a large bump. She winced in pain at the pressure.

"Shhh, it's okay," someone whispered. Aria opened her eyes and saw her mom sitting in a chair next to her bed. Her eyes were warm and friendly, albeit nervous.

"Mom, what happened? Where am I?" she whispered. Everything was still spinning, and she had no idea how she got here. The last thing she remembered was the cold, dizzy feeling when she realized that-

Oh._Oh God_. Oh God Oh God Oh God Oh God-

"Honey, you blacked out," Ella said softly, moving a few strands of hair that fell in front of Aria's eyes. "You're in the nurse's office." Hearing her mom say it, Aria recognized the room. It was soundproof room with a one-way window for sick kids to rest in. She had been here when Spencer sprained her ankle during field hockey practice and Aria drove her home.

Aria remembered that day perfectly. She had stayed late to study in the library, and she got a frantic text from Spencer's field hockey friend Kirsten that Spencer was hurt. Aria ran here to this little room to find Spencer surrounded by her a few girls from the team, laying on the little bed. She was clearly trying to hold it together, seeing as she was team captain, but as soon as the girls left, she lost it and started to cry. Aria couldn't blame her- her ankle looked really bad and was swollen to twice its normal size- but she was amazed the Spencer couldn't cry in front of her team. She only felt safe crying to Aria.

"Mom, how did I get here?" said Aria suddenly. It has jsut occurred to her that the nurses's office was on the opposite side of the school from Spencer's locker.

"Some of the boy's on Emily's swim team carried you here," said her mom gently, nodding towards the window.

Emily. Aria looked through the one-way window out into the nurse's waiting room. She saw Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and her boyfriend Holden waiting outside. They were all sitting in silence, exchanging nervous looks. Ella saw her looking and said gently, "Everyone is worried sick. Do you want to talk to anybody?"

Aria shook her head forcefully, but stopped when the throbbing returned. She couldn't face them; what could she say? "I want to go home," she whispered tearfully. She felt like a two-year-old.

Her mother put her hand on Aria's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever. Are you sick? What happened? Spencer told me you just blacked out suddenly."

_Spencer. Oh God, Spencer_. Aria didn't respond, but the tears sliding down her face were enough for her mom to back off. "Please, Mommy, can I go home?"

Ella knew something was very wrong; Aria hadn't called her "Mommy" since she was about 8. But she didn't press, only nodded and said, "I'll send them back to class, and then I'll drive you home."

Aria nodded, silent tears still dripping down her cheeks. Her mom kissed her forehead and left the room. As soon as she was gone, Aria grabbed the one of the pillows on the bed and smushed it over her face. _Thank God this room is soundproof_, she thought as she half-screamed, half-choked into the pillow as she finally realized what had happened this morning.

Toby was A.


	3. A Conversation, part 1

_Conversation, 12:11 PM EST_

CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: Hey man  
THE_DUDE: sup toby? u on ur lunch break?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: yup. did she find the ring?  
THE_DUDE: yup, just where u left it. the camera in her locker recorded it perfectly  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: did i mention how cool it is that u were able to set that thing up?  
THE_DUDE: nbd. it was easy. and the feed goes straight to my cell  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: dude, u have no idea what a pain it was to get into school last night. a bunch of people were there rly l8. i felt like some1 was watching me the whole time  
THE_DUDE: isn't that our job?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: ha freaking ha. so, did she flip shit when she found it?  
THE_DUDE: naw. she actually took it rly well. aria didn't thou.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: aria? she was with spencer?  
THE_DUDE: yeah. all the girls were there when spencer found it. aria passed out  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: passed out? r u serious?  
THE_DUDE: it was pretty scary shit. spencer slipped the ring on her finger, made some joke about how nice it fit, and aria just lost it. fell right over, totally out of it. rumor has it she didn't wake up for over an hr.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: holy shit. what happened after she passed out?  
THE_DUDE: some guys dragged her to the nurses's office, and Mrs. Montgomery drove her home like an hr ago.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: damn. i mean, i didn't think the ring thing was that creepy. not nearly as bad as when we put worms in the take out containers :)  
THE_DUDE: that was freaking hilarious. you have no idea how many times i've watched that video.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: actually, i do. and u still laugh like a moron every time.  
THE_DUDE: :P it would have been so much better i someone puked or blacked out.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: wait. y would aria pass out from the ring, but not the worms. that's so weird.  
THE_DUDE: idk. maybe she's sick or something  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: did miss bitch plan something to freak her out w/o telling me?  
THE_DUDE: toby, u shouldn't call her miss bitch. it pisses her off. and we both know that she is helping all of us out.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: yeah, yeah, ik. i don't need a lecture, bro. so did she do something to aria w/o telling me?  
THE_DUDE: not that i know of. mona didn't mention anything 2 me  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: neither did sexybeast123. and we would have def been on top of that if something was happening.  
THE_DUDE: u do realize that sexybeast123 has a real name, right?

CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: yes, but it's so much more fun to say sexybeast123 :)  
THE_DUDE: spencer's a lucky gal to have such a mature bf behind her  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: SERIOUSLY, how many times have i said not to talk about her?  
THE_DUDE: sorry toby. i know u guys r getting close, but i thought it was still all for the team.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: we're more than close. we're. . . rly close  
THE_DUDE: what? how close?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: forget i mentioned it dude  
THE_DUDE: toby, how close? i mean, she's pretty hot. i don't blame u  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: dude, shut up. i told u not to talk about her!  
THE_DUDE: whoa, defensive much? seriously toby, how close is close?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: i. . . slept w/ her  
THE_DUDE: omfg, rly? when?

CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: the day emily killed lyndon  
THE_DUDE: u waited this long 2 say somethin? who else knows?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: no1. especially not miss bitch. she'd kill me  
THE_DUDE: damn right she would. u can't throw off the grand plan. she wants those girls to burn in hell, and u should 2!  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: ik, ik. but there's somethin about Spencer. . .  
THE_DUDE: well, how was she?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: i swear to god, if u say anything else about her, i am leaving work to come and kick your ass  
THE_DUDE: sorry, sorry! it's just funny, u know?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: i don't c what's funny about it. i took her virginity, and i'm screwing her over  
THE_DUDE: ur not getting emotional over this, r u?  
THE_DUDE: toby, r u?  
THE_DUDE: man, i'm sorry  
THE_DUDE: have u ever thought about u and little miss hugsnkisses? i mean, sir sexybeast is dating someone, me and mona r together. u guys r the only single 1s.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: did u seriously just ask that? have u missed the whole "miss bitch" part of this convo? not to mention she looks just like u-know-who.  
THE_DUDE: sorry man. i just thought that, u know, u and spencer can't last 4ever, especially not with the plan. u might wanna think about having some1 to fall back on.  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: u know what? im done with this convo. and my lunch break is ending.  
THE_DUDE: talk to me l8r, ok toby?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: whatever

_Conversation ended, 12:46_


	4. A Complication

Later on that Friday afternoon, Ella walked into Aria's bedroom and found her daughter cocooned in the blankets so that only her face and the icepack on the back of her head was visible. She was lying on her side staring blankly at the door, as she had been since she returned home.

"Emily, Hanna, and Spencer are here," whispered her mother, kneeling by the bed. "Do you want them to send me away?" Aria nodded, the icepack slipping off her head and onto a pillow. She wasn't ready to see them yet.

Aria had spent the last few hours deliberating, pondering, and crying. She didn't know the procedure for this. What was the appropriate next move when you found out you and your best friends were being stalked by someone who one of them was in love with?

She tried to think of a plan, any plan, but she kept flashing back to Spencer crying on her shoulder when Toby ran away. She remembered how Spencer was trying to hold it together, trying to be the strong one, but deep down she was splitting in two. It broke Aria's heart to see her best friend breaking like that.

But, she know that honesty was the best policy. Well, most of the time it was, but she just had to come out and say it. Toby is A. Toby is A.

Before her mom could leave her bedroom to shoo her friends away, Spencer appeared at the door with Emily and Hanna close behind. "Is it okay if we come in?"

"Aria's tired. She needs to rest," said Ella, trying her best to be look like a crazy, anal control-freak like Veronica Hastings. She knew that Aria didn't want to see her friends but had no idea why. She did the best she could to pretend she was a type-A, leave my ailing daughter to get some peace and quiet type of mother. It wasn't really working; the girls knew her too well.

"Please, we'll only be a few minutes," Spencer pressed. Ella looked at Aria, who was pleading with her eyes, but suddenly the phone rang. Ella walked out to grab it and said to the girls, "Just a few minutes."

Hanna and Emily walked in after Spencer. "Aria, are you okay?" Emily said finally.

Aria nodded slowly, not saying anything.

"Your mom said you were sick," said Spencer, her eyebrows raised. "That you had a high fever."

"You seemed fine this morning," added Hanna, sitting down on the bed. Aria flinched as if Hanna was going to hit her and inched deeper into pile of blanket surrounding her.

Hanna and Emily didn't seem to notice but Spencer did. "Are you feeling any better?" Spencer prodded gently. Aria nodded again, too afraid to say that she had felt worse and worse with each passing hour.

"We were so scared today," said Emily, kneeling by the bed. Aria flinched away again, and Spencer raised an eyebrow even higher. "Do you just have a virus or something?"

Aria pulled the blankets up so they covered her mouth so the girls couldn't see her chin quiver. She nodded again, afraid everything would come spilling out if she said anything.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Hanna. She placed her hand on Aria's back. Aria whimpered slightly at the contact, and Hanna jerked back a bit, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry," Aria breathed slowly and softly. "I'm just- my head is spinning, and I'm really tired. Can you come back another time?"

The threesome look at Aria, confused and hurt. "You mean you don't want us here?" Hanna asked sadly.

"Han, I- I do. I just really don't feel well and need to sleep. I'm sorry."

"Okay, well, text me later okay?" asked Emily. Hanna nodded in agreement.

"Sure," whispered Aria. Emily gave her hand a squeeze, and Hanna patted Aria's back gently before the two left.

"Spence, you coming?" asked Emily.

"You guys go on without me. I'll be down in a few." Emily nodded, and she and Hanna walked out the door, leaving Aria alone with Spencer.a

Spencer grabbed Aria's desk chair and pulled it up next to the bed. "Aria, are you sure you're okay?"

Aria nodded weakly, and Spencer gave her a critical look. "You're lying; I can tell. Now seriously, what's wrong?"

"Spence, I really just don't feel well," Aria said, choking back tears as she yanked the blankets closer.

Spencer half-nodded, not looking at Aria. "Okay. Good. Because, I . . . I really, really need you to be okay." She sniffled and pawed at her eyes. Aria knew Spencer well enough that she knew this meant she was going to start crying.

"I really need you right now," she said. "I need you to be there for me."

Aria didn't understand. Now was as good a time as any to tell her- Spencer was a secretly a sucker for those BFF-girl bonding moments- but her tongue felt like jelly. Suddenly, she got the courage and choked out, "Spencer, there's something I need to-"

"No, I need to tell you something," Spencer interrupted. "Aria, I- I'm pregnant."

The news didn't sink in for a second, but then it hit Aria like a thousand bullets. She inhaled sharply and buried her face in the blankets so that Spencer could only see her eyes.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Spencer choked out, a few tears dancing down her cheeks. "I decided that I have to tell Toby tonight, and I don't know what's going to happen. Or if I'll get an abortion, or-

She was rambling now, like she did when she was nervous. "Or what the hell my parents will say when they find out, or if I'll even tell them, or if Toby will want to keep it, or even how to tell Emily and Hanna. I just- Aria, I'm scared."

Aria couldn't think of anything to say. She just kept staring at Spencer. "Aria, please, I am so, so scared." Tears were streaming down her face, and she was hiccuping as she choked out the words. "I don't know what I'm going to do and I need my best friend to be there for me. Please, I need you."

Aria's throat felt dry and her stomach was churning like she was about to vomit. "Aria, say something, please," Spencer said quietly.

But she couldn't. She couldn't tell Spencer now, not after this. What could she say? It would break her heart. Aria loved Spencer too much to break her heart.

"Aria, please say something?"

Oh God, how could this be happening? How could she break her best friend's heart and-

"Aria," Spencer yelled. Aria was still wrapped up, unmoving. Ella ran in the room, looking from Spencer's tears to Aria's cocoon of blankets.

Before Ella could say a word, Spencer stood up and said, "Feel better, Aria." Her voice was cold and angry, full of hurt. But Aria knew her well enough to detect fear. With that, Spencer stormed out and slammed the door.

Aria hadn't realized how bad she was shaking until Ella sat down next to her on the bed and tried to hold her still. Aria sat up, quivering and gasping for air as her mother tried to get information from her. Ella shook her shoulders and called her name, and suddenly Aria focused on her mother's face.

"Mom, I'm in trouble," Aria breathed, still gasping.

"What's wrong? Can you tell me?"

"No," she cried, and dissolved into sobs.

**Here's where things start to get interesting. Spencer is carrying the devil's spawn, but she really has no idea! Aria knows, but how could she ever tell Spencer? What is going to happen when Spencer tells Toby she's pregnant? What does A have planned for them? And worst of all, can Sparia's friendship withstand the heat? Next update coming soon!**

**Please review! More reviews = faster updates.**

**Thanks for reading! I love all of you for take time to look at this. **


	5. A Date Night

Spencer flipped mindlessly through the leather-bound menu as a kind waiter poured her a glass of water. Toby sat across from her, studying her. She looked gorgeous as usual in a long, pale-green dress made of swishy material. It was strapless and showed off her elegant, regal shoulders. She had spent hours blowing out, straightening, and curling her hair to perfection, and now she looked like a sexy teenaged girl Lion. She had literally spent hours working on her smokey eye make up, foundation that evened her skin and covered her awkward birthmark on her cheek, and lip gloss that made her lips thick and pink.

_I should feel beautiful,_ she thought as she looked into the mirror after she finished getting ready. But the corners of her mouth turned down, as if she was sucking on a lemon. Her mind was still swirling with her fight with Aria. They were supposed to be best friends, and best friends didn't fight. That on top of the shovel ring in her locker was enough to make her want to run away and hide forever.

"Are you still worried about Aria?" Toby asked gently.

Spencer gave him a sad smile. She had confessed to him that she was nervous for her friend and had yelled at her earlier, but didn't quite say why.

Subconsciously, Spencer placed her hand on her lower abdomen. She knew she couldn't be more than a few weeks along, but it was almost like she could feel it pulsing, throbbing beneath her skin.

"It's no big deal," she said, looking at him straight in the eye. "Tonight's not about her. It's about us."

She felt foolish immediately after she said it. It sounded like she wanted to pretend they were an old married couple. She loved Toby, and things were so serious between them. He was perfect in every way, from how he would listen to her endless worries and complaints about the world, to the lattes he would bring her during her free periods when he knew she had a test that day, to the hours he had spent holding her and saying nothing as she quietly cried in his arms.

But she looked over at Toby, her Toby, and realized what she needed to do. He hated lies and liars, and she couldn't keep a secret from him. She kept thinking about how much this would ruin his life. She knew he would have to eat ramen for the next two weeks to pay for this meal; how could she make him take care of a baby? Her parents certainly wouldn't help; they would immediately abandon her.

Suddenly, she felt her phone buzz in her clutch, interrupted her panicky thoughts. Toby was distractedly gazing through the menu, so she grabbed it from under the table. 1 New Text Message, it read. Sender Unknown.

_Oh shit_, she thought. Not here. Not now. She opened it and read it once, then twice.

**"The back parking lot of the Costco on Cherry St. in Jefferson county at 10. Go alone or pay the price. -A"**

Spencer sucked in her breathe, calculating. It was already past 8 PM; it would take an hour to drive back to her house from here; another 45 minutes to get to Jefferson county from there. It crossed her mind to have Toby drive her, but there was no way she was dragging him into that danger.

When he looked up from the menu, he must have seen how pale she looked. "Spencer, is everything alright?" he asked tenderly.

"I- I'm sorry, Toby. Something- just came up, and I need to head home."

"But- but, we haven't even ordered yet."

"I- I know. And I am so, so sorry. We didn't even get to. . . talk." Spencer inwardly cringed. She had finally worked up enough goddamn courage to tell him that she was pregnant; how would she ever be brave enough again? Putting it off would just make it worse.

Toby's eyes flashed, and Spencer whispered, "Can we maybe do it another time?" She saw the hurt and confusion on his face and immediately felt like shit. He had planned out a special night for the two of them, and now she was lying to him again.

"I- I guess. If we have to go, then . . ." He trailed off, not finished.

Spencer suddenly felt nauseous looking at his earnest, disappointed face. She smiled gratefully. "I just have to use the bathroom real fast, okay? I'll be right back." More like go throw up. Did people get morning sickness this early? She felt sick to her stomach.

Toby nodded without looking up. She couldn't look at his face anymore, so Spencer stood up from her chair and quickly paced to the bathroom, trying to hold down the vomit. She was moving so fast that she didn't notice she hadn't fully closed her clutch and that her cellphone had slipped out and landed on her seat.

Toby grabbed her cellphone from the floor and scanned through her conversations until she found the unknown messages. He read the text, his eyes narrowed. He dug in his pocket until he found his own phone, and then his second phone. It was there; it hadn't been stolen.

_What the hell_? He was furious; every move was strategic; he had told all of them that he was going to dinner with her tonight. Nice of whoever sent it to tell him beforehand. He angrily punched in a text that he sent to the others.

_Chatroom: The TeAm_  
_Chatroom Activated by CarpentryKingCavenaugh_  
_HugsnKisses has entered the chatroom_  
_The_Dude has entered the chatroom_  
_SexyBeast123 has entered the chatroom_

CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: um, like actually, what the hell?  
SEXYBEAST123: and hello to u too, toby?  
HUGSNKISSES: shouldn't u be out with spencer right now? i payed a lot to send u to that restaurant  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: she's in the bathroom. cut the crap. u all knew i was going out with her tonight! where the hell are u sending her?  
HUGSNKISSES: toby, what r u talking about?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: um, i'm talking about the text she just got?  
THE_DUDE: what text?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: wait, u guys didn't send it?  
HUGSNKISSES: toby, what the hell r u talking about?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: spencer just got a text from A! u guys didn't send it?  
HUGSNKISSES: um, hell no!  
THE_DUDE: mona didn't. she's in for the night.  
SEXYBEAST123: what did it say?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: The back parking lot of the Costco on Cherry St. in Jefferson county at 10. Go alone or pay the price. -A  
HUGSNKISSES: um, what the fuck?  
CARPENTRYKINGCAVENAUGH: shit, spencer's coming back, i gtg

_CarpentryKingCavenaugh has left the chatroom_

Toby scratched his head, pondering. If neither of them had sent this message, then who did? Whatever was happening, he decided, he would have to figure it out.

He quickly sent a text to them all: "I'll handle this. Someone steal me a car and bring it a block from Spencer's house in an hour. -T"

When by the time Spencer had returned, he had hid both of his phones in his pockets.

He stood up, pushed in his chair, and reached over to give her the cellphone."You dropped your phone," he said innocently, handing over the iPhone.

Although she was looking pale and weak, she gave him a sad smile. "Thanks. I know I can always count on you to pick me up when I'm falling."

_Whoa_, thought Toby, _where did THAT come from_? He gave her a concerned look. "Spencer, are you okay? Do you need me to take you somewhere? To a doctor?"

Spencer shook her head. "No, i just need to get home. You are so, so sweet." Suddenly, a tear rolled down her cheek. Toby wanted to be sensitive, but he was so CONFUSED! Who sent the message, and why was Spencer so upset?

"I love you, Toby," she whispered, looking him in the eye. Her voice was begging, pleading for him to respond the same, so he did.

"I love you too, Spencer."

He took a step closer to her and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. He lingered for just a moment and then pulled back, not wanting to make a big scene in the restaurant. But the second was long enough. She looked back at him so happy, so peaceful, so in love.

He wasn't proud of what he was doing, but he knew it was for the best.


	6. An Accident

Aria's teeth chattered as she sat with her back to the old Costco. It had closed down about two years ago, and there was a rumor that it was haunted. No one would dare come within a quarter mile of it, except on Halloween. That was what made it the perfect location for what had to happen.

She check her watch: 9:59. _Right on time_, she thought as Hanna's, Emily's, and Spencer's cars pull into the parking lot. She couldn't hear them chattering, but she could imagine what they were saying: "What are you doing here?" "I got a note from A." "You too?" "Guys, what's going on?"

Aria stood up, yanking the hood over her head. She paced across the parking lot, her teeth chattering even more. Her plan couldn't have been any more perfect. After she the text to the three of them and signed it -A, she had driven here and contemplated for hours how she would tell them. She knew that A was always watching, so she had to make this secretive. She picked an abandoned spot, and she made sure none of the girls were together when she sent the message.

But she was nervous as hell. What would they say? How would they react? Would Spencer cry, break down, deny it? Would she believe Aria?

Or she would; they all would. They knew Aria wouldn't lie. But that didn't make it any easier.

Aria paced faster across the parking lot, shivering. Spencer was the first to see her and started to approach. Aria was so focused on Spencer coming towards her that she didn't notice the speeding car, heading straight towards her.

The lights were blinding, and the squeal of the rubber wheels on the road was deafening. Aria was overcome by a sense of deja vu- it was just like the night Hanna was hit. She could hear her friends screaming for her to run, but it was like her feet were glued to the ground, her eyes bugged out and wide. But like that night, she couldn't see the driver. But somehow, she knew who it was: Toby.

She stopped breathing and shut her eyes tight. _This is it, _thought Aria. This was the moment she would die. She would feel the slam, the pain, and then everything would go black. Her friends would scream and run towards her, but never see the driver. She would go to the grave keeping her secret about Toby all to herself. It looked like what Alison said was right: Two can only keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Then she felt it: the slam. It didn't hurt nearly as much as she expected, but her eyes were still closed as she part-flew, part-tripped a few feet. That was unexpected; she remembered Hanna flying over the car. She landed with a hard thunk on the parking lot, waiting for the pain to come. She felt stiff, but no pain. She could still hear the screaming of her friends, the tires squealing on the car.

_Why is everything still happening_? she thought._ Am I still alive_? She opened her eyes, so curious of what was happening. The first thing she saw was the car speeding away, its lights the only source of illumination in the dark. She saw Emily and Hanna, screaming and running towards her. No, not towards her, but towards something. Where was Spencer? It took a moment before she realized: the slam that Aria had felt wasn't a car hitting her, but another person, pushing her out of harms way. She realized that Spencer had saved her life at the exact same moment she located her friend.

Spencer was lying on the ground, grey tire-marks visible on her white coat.

* * *

"Aria. Aria, breathe. Just breathe." Emily was whispering to Aria, trying to calm her down, but nothing was working. She had her arms wrapped around Aria's stomach and squeezed her tight as the two of them sat on a scratchy, polyester couch in the Rosewood Memorial Hospital waiting room. Aria was in hysterics, and Emily was all alone with her as Hanna was trying to find Wren to give them an update of if Spencer was okay.

Or if she was alive.

So far, all they knew was that one of the tires had run over her head, causing a giant fracture on her skull. The doctors said they wouldn't know how much damage there would be until they did a few more scans, but they still had to x-ray her whole body and check for internal bleeding.

Internally, Emily was panicking, crying, screaming, and rolling on the floor while sucking her thumb. But she was holding it together for Aria, who had admitted on the drive here that she had been the one who sent the text, that she knew who was driving, that Toby was A.

Toby was A. Toby was A. Toby. Was. A.

Toby. Her Toby. _Spencer's_ Toby. Emily and Toby had been best friends for years before Emily met Alison. They grew up on the same street and were practically brother and sister.

But suddenly, things changed. Toby's mother died from cancer, Emily joined Ali's clique, and Toby got sent away to school. Since dating Spencer, he had started turning around to the person he used to be, or so Emily thought.

How could this be happening? Was Aria lying? Emily looked at Aria, dissolving in her arms. Tear were streaming down her face as she screamed, inconsolable. There was no way Aria was making this up.

Suddenly, Hanna burst through the doors, her eyes red and her hands shaking. Emily left Aria, still shrieking on the couch, and ran over to Hanna. Hanna seemed to be paralyzed. Emily grabbed Hanna and tried to shake information out of her, and it was a very long minute until she responded.

"She's alive," Hanna said, her voice cracking. "Spencer. . . is. . .alive. Her skull is fractured, and. . she has a few broken ribs. . . and she needs surgery to remove. . . her spleen . . . and she's in a coma. They don't. . . . they don't know if. . . ." Hanna collapsed to her knees in sobs, Emily falling with her. They hugged each other, relying on each other's weight to keep holding them up.

Aria watched from the couch. Two of her best friends were sobbing hysterically, and the other was dying in a hospital bed. All because of her. She stood up from the couch, shaking, and fell down next to them. "I'm so sorry guys. This is all-" she hiccuped, "All my fault. If I hadn't- I hadn't-"

Emily pulled away from Hanna, tears zigzagging down her face. Aria couldn't read her expression; pity, maybe? Irritation? "You did what you had to do," she said finally. But she didn't hug Aria, didn't pat her knee reassuringly. She just stared at her with that same, nameless expression. Hanna didn't even look at her, gazed down the hallway at someone while angrily swiping at her tears.

That someone turned out to be Wren. He looked professional in his baby-blue scrubs and white lab coat, but his eyes looked puffy, and not just because he was tired. "Girls," he practically whispered. "I'm not supposed to tell you this because you aren't family, but there is something you need to know."

The three pivoted towards him, but didn't make a move to get up. Wren sighed and crouched down next to them, finally sitting cross-legged on the floor. He cleared his throat and said, "Spencer has some major brain trauma from the pressure on her skull. It's like a giant bruise across the back of her head. The good news is that if she wakes up, she'll be fine in time."

"If?" Hanna croaked, afraid to hear the answer.

"We don't know if she will regain conciousness, or when she will if she does at all."

Emily buried her face in her hands, and Hanna dissolved into sobs again. But Aria didn't take her eyes off Wren, willing him to say it was a mistake, that he was joking, something, anything. She was staring so intensely that she almost didn't noticed the figure in a black hoodie dash around the corner.


	7. An Awakening

Toby peered around to make sure no one was watching him and slid into Spencer's hospital room. Machines beeped, and wires snaked out of her body. He felt a little choked up as he sat down next to her. 2 weeks after she had been admitted, Spencer had been moved out of the ICU to a private room, finally.  
That made what Toby was about to do so much easier.

But that didn't make it any less hard.

Although she had be unconscious for two weeks with minimal yet steady brain activity, the team had decided that they needed to be prepared for her to wake up or die. Toby was in charge of planting a note with Spencer in case she woke up. They said it would be less suspicious if some one caught him, the doting, heartsick boyfriend, alone in the hospital room.

He grabbed a blank piece of paper out of his pocket and quickly scrawled the message across it:** "Oops, I missed. Your lucky I'm not as good at driving as I am at finding out your secrets. -A"**

It was the message he and the others agreed upon, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. It wasn't like the person driving had actually _missed; _Spencer had pushed Aria out of the way, saving her life, or so they told him.

He hadn't actually been there. The car he had been given ran out of gas a few miles from the Costco, so he called in the others to go check it out. When they told him what had happened, he was furious. He only wanted to see what was going on.

The others were furious that Aria knew about him. _"_The others all must know now too," he was told repeatedly. "And if Spencer wakes up, you'll be dead." He tried to ignore the fact that they said "if."

He groaned softly and returned to the task at hand. He folded the paper until it was half the size of his palm and then looked at Spencer for a moment. He couldn't decide where to leave the note; he needed to make sure no one else could find it. After a minute, he decided on sliding it in her bra. Thank God there were no windows in here; that would be pretty awkward to explain to the nursing staff.

He gently caressed her face with one hand and kissed her forehead. "Wake up, Spencer," he said harshly. He wiped at his eyes, staring at her face. When he was certain nothing was going to happen, he grabbed the note in his fist and put his hand down the neckline of her hospital gown. Soon, his hand was under her bra. He fished around for a moment, trying to find a spot to place the note.

At that moment, a machine next to him beeped loudly, and Spencer's eyes fluttered open slowly. They focused on his, but his hand was awkwardly frozen under her shirt.

"Toby," she breathed. "Toby. Am I in the hospital?"

He nodded, yanked his hand out, and kissed her forcefully. "You're okay," he told her, told himself. He could hide the glee in his voice as the truth became real to him. "You're okay."

_She's okay,_ he thought to himself. _She's going to be okay!"_

But something was off in Spencer's eyes. After a second, she stopped kissing him back and fished her hand down her shirt. Toby was frozen, unsure of what to do next, if she would understand, if she would even find the note.

But she did. She pulled her arm out, clasping the piece of notebook paper, and unfolded it. She looked at it for a moment, and read every word. Toby couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. He knew he needed an excuse, an explanation, something for her to make sense out of. But he wasn't sure what was right. So, he said the one thing that he knew was true, the one thing that she had to believe:

"I love you."

It became true to him in that moment. He loved her, he really did. Screw the team. He loved her, everything about her. His mind spun with plans of running away together, starting a family, never returning to this hell called Rosewood. They would change their names, get fake passports, and have two beautiful kids.

But first, her realized, he needed to explain. Explain everything, the team, their motives, what they had done to Spencer and the others. _If she'll just let me explain,_ thought Toby, _everything will be okay._

Spencer looked up at him, having already read the note five times. His face was so somber, so sad, yet it pleaded for mercy. He begged her in his eyes to forgive him, forgive his mistakes, and to let him explain what was happening.

The pieces of the puzzle were becoming clear to her. His apologetic, regretful face. The eerie note. The way that A knew everything about her, small things that only a handful of people knew about.

_"Are you sure?" Toby whispered, grabbing her face, his hands moving over her body._

_"Yes," Spencer breathed, inhaling Toby's scent, a mixture of wood shavings and the cologne she bought him for his birthday. _

_He carried her to the bed, making her feel like a princess being swept of her feet. They pressed their faces together and giggled. Spencer couldn't believe what was happening. It was finally going to happen._

_Toby unbuttoned her shirt, and she slowly removed his. He unhooked her bra, moving his fingers over he naked upper body, absorbing every minute of her. His fingers danced over the freckles and birthmarks that speckled across her torso. He touched everyone one, from her stomach to her shoulders to chest. She had always been self conscious about them, hating to wear bikini's and crop tops because of the ugly brown dots. But she didn't feel this way with him. She felt like he was canvasing every inch of her, protecting her._

_She slowly unbuttoned his jeans, moving her hands slowly before she whipped off her own pants. Soon, both of them were completely naked, and they began to get closer, even closer than they had before. _

_Spencer had been afraid of this before, afraid it would change everything. But as she gave herself to Toby, not once did she regret it. She knew that they loved each other, and nothing could ever be more perfect. _

Without hesitating, Spencer drew back her arm and slapped him across the face.


	8. A Confrontation

Veronica Hastings tucked a blanket around Spencer's shoulders as her daughter rested in her own bed for the first time in over three weeks. She had just been released from the hospital a few hours ago, and was already exhausted by the busy day. Mrs. Hastings was careful not to pull the blankets too tight and put pressure on Spencer's 5 broken ribs, or too loose and have the blanket rub against the skin on her sore stomach, still tender after the surgery three weeks ago.

Her mother kissed Spencer's forehead lightly, and Spencer winced. Shooting pain shot through her skull, a result of the not-yet perfectly healed fracture. The doctors said it was a miracle that it was a clean break and that she didn't need brain surgery, but Spencer still had horrible headaches and pain at even the slightest bop on her head. The headaches made it nearly impossible to think, which is something she had been doing a lot of lately.

After Toby had left that day, she had a panic attack, resulting in the two broken pieces of her skull rubbing together a lot. She had terrible pain afterwards and needed heavy medication. The doctors hadn't seen Toby come in, nor had she told anyone that she saw him, but to be safe, they limited her visits to family only. She held it together, making weak conversation when her parents or Melissa visited, but as soon as they left, she did nothing but cry silently to herself.

She kept replaying her conversation with Toby to herself, and she felt sick to her stomach each time she remembered his words. There was no way this boy, the boy who rubbed her back when she was sick and brought her flowers when she was studying for exams and went to every one of her field hockey games with a big sign that said "GO SPENCER," had betrayed her. She couldn't believe everything that he told her about A, about Alison, everything that had been happening without her even knowing about any of it. She had no idea what she would do with that information, or how she would break it to her friends.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and her mother went to go answer it. She groaned inwardly, knowing what was coming next. It was probably Aria, Hanna, and Emily at the door. She hadn't seen either of them since waking up from her coma, at first because she wasn't allowed, but later because she refused. She needed to plan out what to say to them. She couldn't lie; she had to tell them the truth of what happened between her and Toby. She couldn't bear to think of the shock, the anger, the fear, and the pity the would have for her. They would panic when she told them everything she knew about A. But she loved these girls; they needed to know.

Her mother appeared at the door. "Aria is here," she said gently.

"Hanna and Emily?"

"No, just Aria." WHAT? That was weird. Why hadn't the others come? And why was Aria here alone? There was no way she would be able to handle telling the girls separately. But now that she thought about it, maybe it would be easier to tell Aria first. Although what Toby had told her would probably be the most devastating to Aria, she would understand how sad Spencer felt because she was the only one who knew she was pregnant.

She was pregnant. _Shit_. That hadn't gone away, hadn't it?

Aria walked in the doorway tentatively, nervous like Spencer was going to explode like an atomic bomb. It occurred to Spencer that this was how she must have looked to Aria the day she told her she was pregnant. Now the roles were reversed: Spencer was lying in bed helpless, and Aria was her nervous visiter.

But something that had stayed the same was that both then and now, Spencer needed her, so so badly. She could only hope this time went better.

As her mother closed the door to leave them alone, she couldn't help notice for a moment how happy she was she had jumped in front of that car to save Aria. She couldn't imagine one of the only people she was certain that she loved lying in bed, broken and twisted.

She looked at Aria's face, the face that she had seen laugh like a maniac when the two had a few too many pixie sticks during sleep overs, but also the face that had cried into her chest when Ezra passed away. She looked the hands that intertwined with hers as the two walked gleefully through the mall, shopping bags swung around their arms. But most importantly, she saw the arms, small but fierce, that wrapped around her when she cried._  
_

It was those tiny, tough arms that let her know that the next few minutes were going to be okay.

How wrong she was.

"Aria, there's something I have to tell you."

"No, Spencer, there is something I have to tell you first. Toby is A. He's A. I saw him put the box with the plastic shovel in your locker, and I was scared because I- I wasn't sure how to tell you, and I sent you and Hanna and Emily that text so I could tell you somewhere private, but I guess A, well, Toby, beat me to it, and I am so, so sorry you had to find out this way."

Aria bit the inside of her cheek. She said the sentences exactly how she had rehearsed them in front of the mirror for the last week, quick and to the point. As much as she loved Spencer, she had to say it. She knew that Spencer would appreciate her honesty, and after the shock wore off, it would all be okay.

Aria looked at her friend's face, expecting the open jaw, the disbelieving eyes, the anger and denial. But all she saw was the anger. Spencer's jaw was quivering, like it always did when she was holding back a scream, and her eyes had murder in them. She looked at Aria sternly, and two words slipped out of her tightly locked lips:

"You knew?"

The world was silent for a moment as that words hit Aria. What did she mean, Aria knew? Was Spencer in on this? Was this some part of a cruel joke? What was happening?

"You knew, and you didn't tell me," Spencer whispered at a low register.

"Wait, Spencer, you knew too?" Aria said, gasping.

"Well, I do know," Spencer growled. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Aria was shocked. "I wanted to, but I was afraid. There wasn't a right moment-"

"WHAT? Are you fucking SERIOUS?" Spencer exploded. "We were alone! That day you went home sick! I asked you what was bothering you, and you lied! You could have told me! How could you keep this from me?"

Aria whimpered like she'd been slapped and took a step back. "I was trying to protect you," she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.

"You lied to me, Aria. It was a lie of omission. After I was completely honest with you, you betrayed me. And you know what? I am so, so SICK of people betraying me. First Toby, know you? Can I fucking trust ANYONE?"

Aria hiccuped, trying to stop herself from full on sobbing. "Spence, you can trust me. I promise. I'm sorry! Please, trust me."

"Aria, I thought we were best friends!" Spencer cried.

"Spencer, we are!"

"Aria, you don't know what best friends are! Best friends don't keep secrets from each other. Who the hell do you think you are? ALISON?"

"Spencer, please," Aria whimpered, wiping tears from her face. "You can trust me."

"No, I can't! Not after you did this. Not after I-" Spencer cut herself off, and the room was silent again. Aria pleaded for forgiveness with her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

She waited for Spencer to breathe, to sigh, to calm down, but it didn't happen. Spencer took a breath and said the words Aria least expected to hear:

"Get out of my house."

"What?" Aria gasped, too surprised to cry.

"Just go away. I can't do this right now. Just leave." All the fight went out of Spencer in those words.

Embarrassed and hurt, and she turned around and walked out of the room, away from Spencer, as quickly as she could.


	9. A Disappearance

As soon as Aria left, Spencer stumbled dizzily to the bathroom and vomited. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She couldn't believe it. What Aria had done, what Toby had done, what Toby had revealed to her in the hospital room.

When she finished, she finally heard the frantic pounding on her bathroom door and her mother calling her name. "I'm. . . . fffffffine, Mmmmom," she wheezed, still feeling queasy. She carefully stood up and opened the door to find her panic-struck mother at the door. Spencer collapsed in her arms, her body still unstable and clumsy.

Her mother lead her to the red sofa in her bedroom and helped her lie down. "I'm fine, Mom," Spencer said again. A plan was forming in her mind, and she needed to look convincing. "I just sat up too fast and got kind of dizzy. Can you run to the pharmacy and fill my prescription for the anti-nausea pills?"

Her mom looked at her nervously. "Honey, can you wait? Your dad won't be home for another two hours, and it'll take me just as long to get there and back. I don't want you alone that long."

Two hours was more than enough time. Spencer shook her head no as forcefully as she dare, the pain shooting through her like bullets. That helped her produce a few tears. "Please, Mommy, can you get them?" Spencer tried to look as pitiful as she could.

It was probably the "mommy" that did it. Her mother nodded and helped Spencer to her bed. "Keep your phone close. Call if you need me."

"I might fall asleep, though, so don't get worried if I don't answer right away," Spencer said carefully. Her mother nodded, kissed her forehead again, and left.

As soon as she was gone, Spencer grabbed her cell phone and called the one person who she thought might be able to help her. She heard a voice pick up on the other end. "Hello?"

"Listen, I need your help. You owe me." With that, she spilled the whole story, and although she couldn't see the face on the other end, she could picture a face nodding gravely.

It took about an hour to iron out the details. They both gave each other specific instructions as quickly as they could, as they didn't have much time. Once everything had been planned, Spencer said, "Good luck," and hung up the phone.

She set down the phone and carefully stood up, pacing to the bathroom. She was as calm as possible as she rifled through her medicine cabinet until she found the pills. She sat down on the bottom of the tub and grabbed her razor from the shelf. She held her breath as she ripped the sharp blade out of its plastic container and counted the pills, once, twice, three times to b.e certain. She then swallowed them and carefully, carefully let the razor fall across her arms like the bow of a violin with quick, elegant slashes. She settled down into the bathtub and watched the blood pool and swirl around her as Spencer Hastings slipped away forever.

* * *

"I brought you some tea," Emily's mom said gently, sitting down next to her daughter. Emily unearthed her head from Paige's arms, took the tea, and thanked her mother. She had been sitting with her head down for what seemed like an eternity in the Rosewood Memorial Hospital waiting room. It seemed like only yesterday she was here, sobbing on the floor with Hanna and Aria when they found out Spencer might not live.

Emily look around the room, realizing how different this moment was from the last time she, Hanna, and Aria had gathered here. Hanna was lying on the couch with her head resting in her mother's lap, shaking so badly despite the weighted blanket a nurse had placed on her. Hanna's stepfather, Ted, sat next to Ashley Marin with his arm around her shoulder, murmuring uncomfortably. Caleb was sittint on the floor, whispering to her quietly and trying to calm her down.

Aria sat on the couch on the other side of the room, wordlessly sobbing in her mother's arms. Her father and her brother Mike were there too, awkwardly sitting next to her and rubbing her back, but she didn't seem to notice. Holden was also there, awkwardly on the other side of the room, unsure if he should be conforting Aria when she was surrounded by her family.

Paige slipped her hand into Emily's and whispered, "What are _they_doing here?" She nodded her head in the direction of Noel and Jenna, who had been sitting there since Emily walked in.

Emily shrugged. "I heard that some lax guy got sent her after a game. They might be here to check on him."

Paige nodded, not taking her eyes off the Noel and Jenna.

Pam Fields gently put an arm around her daughter and squeezed her shoulder. "I can't believe this is happening," Emily whispered sadly to her mother as she rested her head on Pam's shoulder.

She really couldn't. She hadn't even seen Spencer since she had woken up from her coma. Emily had gone to visit her every day before she woke up, reading to her, talking, or just stroking her hair and crying silently. She read online that it was good to talk to coma patients, so she went for at least an hour every day, sometimes more. Hanna went with her some days, but she could tell that it freaked her friend out to see Spencer lying there, so she didn't frequent the ICU. Instead, she gave Emily messages to pass along and presents to leave at Spencer's bedside, stuffed animals and candy and make up. It was Hanna's way of being there for her friend without having to see her so broken and lost.

Aria, on the other hand, not once visited Spencer. Emily understood why; she couldn't get herself out of bed during those two weeks, let alone go visit Spencer. Aside from Spencer's parents and Melissa, she was pretty sure that she was Spencer's only regular visitor, which made the whole thing quite confusing for her. She had expected at least one other person to show up.

Toby. He had disappeared the night of Spencer's accident and hadn't been seen since. Emily and Hanna talked it over, and they decided that they couldn't go to the cops about Toby. Admitting he was A would mean admitting every lie they had told since Ali had gone missing, and that could never happen. But it was killing her that Toby was getting away with it.

Every night before she went to sleep, she grabbed one of her favorite photos that sat in a stack on her bed. It had been taken a year before at Spencer's house during her post-Thanksgiving party. It wasn't much of a party- it had just been the girls and their respective boyfriends/girlfriends, gathered around Spencer's fireplace eating leftovers. Hanna had gotten a bit tipsy and was crazily taking photos of every moment. When Emily tripped on her way over to the couch, she accidentally fell straight onto Toby's lap. It was pretty embarrassing, but they both had been drinking and started laughing. In the photo, she was gripping Toby's torso for support, and their heads were close together as they laughed. That photo reminded her of the person Toby used to be: kind, loving, caring, and her oldest friend.

Emily thought about grabbing the photo last night. She knew that Spencer was coming home the next morning and that she would have to tell her the truth. Emily had started crying suddenly, realizing that as heartbroken as she was, Spencer would feel worse. How could Toby be A? Toby had been an amazing friend to her through the worst times, and she had so many beautiful memories with him. How could he be lying to her? The boy she loved like a brother had betrayed her and her best friends, and she couldn't believe it.

As if she conjured him, Toby appeared, racing in the door. He looked disheveled and clearly hadn't shaved in a while. His eyes were crazy and wide, frantically searching around the room. When they landed on Emily, he marched towards and half-screamed, "Where is she? Is she okay? I heard she tried to kill herself! Please, please tell me that she's okay."

This proved to me too much for Emily to handle. She stood up, walked towards him, and gave him a solid punch in the nose. Toby reeled backwards, grabbing his nose and moaning in pain. She could hear cries from her mother, but she wasn't done with him.

"You have no fucking right to ask me that. This is your fault, your fault, you sick bastard, do you understand me? This is all because of YOU." She marched closer to him and forced him up against a wall.

Toby held up his bloodied hands, begging her to stop. "Please, let me explain, Emily. I love her, and I love you too. Please, let me explain."

"NO! SHUT UP! You don't get to explain," she screamed, pressing him closer to the wall until he was standing with his back flat against it. "You are the most pathetic, lying, scheming, blackmailing son of a BITCH that I could ever fucking imagine. You don't get to explain because there is NO explanation for what you did. WHAT YOU ARE STILL DOING!"

She knew somewhere that Toby was stronger than her, that he could have broken her arm if he wanted to. But he let her hit him, he took it. Emily raised her knee into his crotch, hard. She punched him in the gut and scratched at his chest. But he stood there, taking it, and didn't fight back.

Emily hadn't realized how loud she was screaming or how hard she was crying until someone had yanked her to the floor. When she look up, Hanna had wrapped her arms around her and was pulling her back. "Stop, Emily, stop," she cried, holding Emily back until Toby had managed to sprint out of the room. Emily moaned as he ran further and further, but the fight was draining out of her.

"It's not worth it, Em," Hanna whispered so that only Emily could hear, "He isn't worth it."

Emily was fulling expecting at the moment for her mother to get up and ask her what the hell had just happened. She could feel all of the eyes in the room on quiet, demure Emily, who just beat up a guy. But before her Mom could even get out of her seat, Wren burst in the room.

Tears ran down his face and bloodstains speckled his hospital scrubs. He was doing nothing at all to hid his wet eyes from the crowd that had formed in the non-family waiting room. He knew all of the eyes were on him, on his watering eyes, so he announced it for everyone to hear:

"She's gone. Spencer's gone."

**Well, that was a LONG one. **

**This is the first major turning point of the story. I know what you all are thinking: How can there be a story with no Spencer? Is there even a plan behind this insanity? Yes, there definitely is a plan, and this is only the beginning. Also, remember that this is PLL; the dead don't always stay dead, and the living don't always stay living. This is definitely not the last we will see of Spencer. There will be one more chatroom before the next real chapter. It's going to be a big jump into the future. Anything you would like to see happening in this story? Thanks for reading, and please review.**

**Also, shout-out to WTRGAL01. You're reviews make my day :)**

**-The girl behind the laptop **


	10. A Conversation, part 2

_Chatroom Activated: The TeAm  
Room Activated by HugsnKisses  
THE_DUDE has entered the chatroom  
PrettyMonaV has entered the chatroom_

THE_DUDE: Anyone heard from Toby lately?  
PRETTYMONAV: Nope. Has Mr. Sexy Beast heard it from any of the girls?  
HUGSNKISSES: not that he told me about. Where is he anyways?  
THE_DUDE: idk. he said he was going to check up on Spencer now that she's out of the hospital. he told me today he hasn't heard from toby either.  
HUGSNKISSES: goddammit, if toby doesn't come back to earth, than this whole plan falls apart! we need him. as soon as spencer talks to 1 of the others, his ass is screwed. and we need to b behind him when she comes after him with a pitch fork.  
THE_DUDE: we might b 2 l8. sir sexybeast said that aria was on the way there when he was.  
PRETTYMONAV: shit. we r screwed. TOBY is screwed.

_SexyBeast123 has entered the Chatroom_

SEXYBEAST123: holy. fucking. shit.  
HUGSNKISSES: where have u been? u want 2 tell us what happened?  
SEXYBEAST123: spencer killed herself.  
PRETTYMONAV: HOLY SHIT  
THE_DUDE: R U SERIOUS?  
HUGSNKISSES: WHEN? WHY?  
SEXYBEAST123: okay, here's what happened, or so i gathered from the cameras we had set up in spencer's room:  
SEXYBEAST123: spencer comes home from the hospital. aria shows up and the two get into some kind of bitching match because she didn't tell spencer right away about Toby being A. she leaves, spencer's mom leaves, and spencer spends an hour on the phone. then she did it.  
PRETTYMONAV: oh. my. god.  
THE_DUDE: who was she on the phone with?  
SEXYBEAST: idk. but here's the crazy part. so, everyone's in the waiting room, me included, waiting to get some info, and toby showed up at the hospital  
PRETTYMONAV: HE DID?  
THE_DUDE: what happened?  
SEXYBEAST123: not much. he ran in, got the living shit beat out of him by emily, and left.  
THE_DUDE: he got the living shit beat out of him by EMILY?  
SEXYBEAST123: ikr? it was pretty ridiculous  
PRETTYMONAV: what did u say to him?  
SEXYBEAST123: nothing. it happened so fast, and he didn't even look me. some bad shit went down in that waiting room.  
THE_DUDE: i can't believe u had a front row seat to all of that  
SEXYBEAST123: well, not once the british bastard announced that spencer croaked. then, all hell broke lose. all the girls needed fucking TRANQUILIZERS and they kicked out everyone but family, INCLUDING everyone else in the waiting room. which means that everyone ended up outside, lumped together.  
THE_DUDE: rofl. caleb, paige, holden, and noel in one room room together. THAT's awk.  
PRETTYMONAV: i still can't believe that spencer KILLED herself. what are we going to do now?  
THE_DUDE: that's a good question. does the plan still continue if spencer's dead?  
HUGSNKISSES: of course it does, you idiots. just because spencer's gone doesn't mean the others have payed the price for their actions.  
PRETTYMONAV: um, they haven't? girl, i know them. well, i know hanna at least. she is probably LOSING it. hasn't she payed enough?  
HUGSNKISSES: are u seriously asking that? Mona, do u remember what they did to you? what they did to all of us?  
PRETTYMONAV: yeah, i know, but spencer is DEAD. how much more can they pay?  
HUGSNKISSES: with their lives. it's not enough to suffer. we are going to push them to their breaking points, and then snap them. THAT is the plan. and we are going to CONTINUE with the plan. do you all understand me? it doesn't matter is spencer snapped herself before we got a chance. nothing is going to change.

**Well, it's official. SexyBeast123 was IN that hospital waiting room. As far as the team knows, Spencer's dead and Toby's AWOL. And to top it off, according to HugsnKisses, things won't stop for the girls until they are six feet under.**

**Next chapter should be posted tomorrow morning.**


	11. A New Character

"Spencer? SPENCER! SPENCER!" Emily screamed as she dashed across the busy, crowded New York City street. She shoved past everyone, frantically sprinting towards the girl in the long black coat. It was Spencer, she was sure of it. In the two months since Spencer's suicide, Emily had seen and heard her friend everywhere: the face of an extra in a random movie, the voice talking up McDonalds on the radio, the eyes in an ad about glasses, the picture that she kept in her wallet to make sure she would never forget.

But this time, it was Spencer. She was sure of it. When she was waiting in line for her coffee, she glanced around at the falling snow until her eyes landed on Spencer's face in the crowd. Emily took off and sprinted at full speed towards the girl, who was weaving through the crowd with all of the grace of a ballerina the way she effortlessly dodged pedestrians. Emily, on the other hand, clumsily bumped into everyone, tripping over her own feet as she slid through the ice. By the time she reached Spencer, she was breathing hard and could barely stand. In fact, she wasn't standing. Emily reached for Spencer's coat as she slipped on a thick patch of ice. Her grip on the coat was strong, sending both of them sprawling onto the muddy, wet ground.

Emily was thrown onto her stomach, her arms and leg flying everywhere. She sat up as quickly as she could, trying to find Spencer. Her eyes dashed around crazily for a second until she saw Spencer sitting, covered in mud, a few feet away from her with a petrified look on her face.

Except, she WASN'T Spencer. Yes, her facial features were just like Spencer's, nearly identical. She had spencer's height and slim, bony frame. But this girl had shocking green eyes, so different from Spencer's soft brown ones. Her black hair hung straight, swinging at shoulder length, a strong contrast to the unruly brown waves that flowed down Spencer's back. And her skin was a shade or two paler than Spencer's peachy complexion. Emily found herself staring at the girl's cheek: it was smooth and pale where Spencer had a large freckle, a birthmark she had vented about for years. Emily secretly thought it was pretty, but Spencer despised it. The mark was nowhere to been seen on this girl; she was clearly not Spencer.

"I- I"m so sorry," Emily whispered, embarrassed. "I thought you were someone I know- Knew."

The girl still looked frightened, but her expression calmed when Emily spoke. "That's quite alright," she said softly with a slight British accent. "Happens all the time." The girl rose to her feet and looked down at herself, covered in grey slush and mud. Her expensive looking coat would be ruined.

"I ruined your coat," Emily said, reaching into her purse. She grabbed a handful of tissues and started to try to dry it off, but it was useless. The thing was soaking wet. Emily didn't stop, though. She felt terrible and psychotic. She needed to make it up to this poor girl after knocking her off her feet.

"It's fine, truly," the girl said, stepping away from Emily. But Emily stepped closer, angrily trying to blot the mess.

"No, it's not fine. I just knocked you to the ground for no good reason, and now you are covered in mud, all because I was crazy and though you were someone else." Emily blotted harder at the coat, but only succeeded in smearing the mud around even more. "Dammit!"

The girl gently grabbed Emily's arm and said, "It's fine. It's just a coat. I'll have it washed."

Emily nodded, choking back tears. She was trying hard, so hard not to cry. She had been in control of herself and her emotions for a long time, but sometimes she couldn't help but lose it. She felt a feeling bubbling inside her, a feeling of sheer misery. It surfaced when she was least expecting it: when she was writing an English paper, when she was petting her new kitten, Juliet, when she was making breakfast, when she rolled over in bed at night and saw the photo on her desk of her and her four best friends, all of whom were gone except one.

It was killing her, being so alone. She used to have a group of people she laughed with, had fun with, had memorable moments with. Now, she had a barely there girlfriend who loved her loads, but never knew quiet what to do when Emily had a mental breakdown (which happened a lot now). Now, she had one close friend who understood Emily's pain, but Emily also had to help her friend pull herself together during this hell. All she wanted was to go back in time to before her friends were all gone, before this missery appeared.

She did everything she could to hold the misery down, and today was no exception. She looked the girl straight in the eye and said, "Can I at least treat you to Starbucks to make it up to you?" She looked pleasant enough, and Emily wanted to make amends. It would at least get her mind off things- specifically, her mind off today's DATE- for a few hours until the festivities began.

The girl smiled a wide smile, the first moment she didn't look afraid since meeting Emily. "How could you possibly have known I am dying for a latte?"

Emily smiled back warmly and thrust out her hand. "I'm Emily," she said with a smile that her friends had called her "Confidence Face."

The girl returned with an uneasy smile (natural after having such a strange run in with a stranger) and shook Emily's hand. "I'm Eloise."

Eloise. Emily liked the name. She thought it sounded like hope, like the sound someone makes when they giggle, the the mewling noises Juilet made. Emily walked towards Starbucks with her, and suddenly the misery was nowhere to be found.

That night, when Eloise tagged along with her and Hanna, she would explain to Hanna how great it was having Eloise around, as if they'd known each other for YEARS. As if they were best friends in another life.


	12. A Celebration

"Emily, why would you do this?" Hanna asked, half pissed off and half sad. "You just met her a few hours ago. This is supposed to be our night. Spencer's night. Why would you invite her along?"

Emily glanced back at the table in the restaurant where Eloise was patiently sipping ice water. "I can't explain why. When I was talking to her, there was just some sort of connection that I can't explain."

In the two hours that they talked in the Starbucks, Emily spilled all of what had happened- well, MOST of what had happened- to her over the last few years: Alison, A, Mona, Maya, Toby, Spencer's suicide. But more importantly, Emily got to know Eloise Elizabeth Williams.

Eloise, who was born in Oxford to two history professors who loved her very much. Eloise, who had a brother named Elijah who was ten years older than her and a doctor. Eloise, who dreamed of being an interior designer and had gotten into some amazing schools in London early in her senior year of high school. Eloise, who never got to graduate high school after both her parents were killed in a tragic car crash with her last January, which had wounded and scarred her but spared her life. Eloise, who had a cousin in the States who helped her and her brother move to New York and set Elijah up with a job at a local hospital. Eloise, who was searching for some kind of a job to help Elijah with the bills but couldn't get far without a high school degree. Eloise, who made Emily feel calm and happy, and safe for the first time in months.

But Hanna was unimpressed. She was dumbstruck to why Emily would invite her along TONIGHT, this night that they had planned for so long. They knew they needed something special, some kind of ceremony. So, they booked a hotel in New York and made a reservation at some swanky restaurant they had never heard of and brought red wine, chocolate covered strawberries, and The Notebook- all of the ingredients for a great weekend, even if the meaning wasn't super great.

"Please, Han," Emily pleaded. "She doesn't have to come to the hotel with us. Just let her stay for dinner. You'll see what I mean after you talk to her for a while. There is something there, something I can't explain. You will love her, I promise."

Hanna could never say no to Emily, her best friend in the whole world. She sighed, grabbed Emily's hand, and the two walked back to the table. They sat down and made pleasant yet awkward conversation with Eloise for a few minutes until a waiter arrived to take their drink orders.

"Champaign for the table," Hanna said in her best adult voice, hopping the waiter wouldn't ask how old they were.

He looked at Hanna with a raised eyebrow. "Is this a special occasion of some sort?"

"I guess you could say that," Hanna said with a sorrow filled smile. The waiter must have understood that the occasion was bittersweet and taken pity on her because her returned promptly with three tall flutes, filled to brim with bubbles.

"A toast," Emily said using her Confidence Face, "To Spencer." Hanna looked at her and nodded, while Eloise watched with wide eyes. "Spencer, I would give anything for you to be here with us today, but since you can't, I hope that wherever you are, you are happier. Just know that down here we miss you like crazy, and I hope you are watching all of us from up there."

Emily paused for a moment, wiping a tear from her eye as she smiled sadly up at the ceiling. Hanna broke in and finished for her, "To Spencer, one of the most wonderful, beautiful people I've ever met, inside and out. Happy 18th birthday."

Eloise turned pale at those words and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Hanna shot Emily a look that said,_ you seriously didn't tell her that's why we are here_? Emily shrugged in response. "Happy Birthday, Spencer," she echoed, and drained her champaign glass in one hearty swig.

Hanna smiled at her, annoyed, but she wasn't about to let this ruin the night. She drained the glass just as quickly, looked up the sky and said, "We miss you, Spence, but you're always with us, even when you're not here."

Just then, some one arrived with a plate of bread. Eloise took a piece silently, feeling awkward and out of place. Hanna and Emily thought she was uncomfortable because they were celebrating their dead friend's birthday.

But in reality, Eloise spent the entire meal making polite conversation while thinking to herself, _Can they tell? Do they know? Is my secret out?_

When they were almost finished with dessert, Emily's phone began to ring. She reached for it to look at the caller-ID, and she visibly wilted when she saw who it was.

"Em, who is it?" Hanna asked. Emily didn't answer and quickly dashed from the table. Hanna looked over at Eloise and said faux-apologetically, "Can you excuse me for just a sec?" Eloise nodded and Hanna got up to follow Emily outside. She was so focused that she didn't notice Eloise slowly trailing behind her, nor did she notice Eloise listening on her and Emily's conversation.

"It was Ella," Emily said sadly. "She called from the hospital to keep us updated."

"Did she . . ." Hanna started, but trailed off when Emily nodded. Hanna wrapped her arms her friend and the two stood there, silently hugging for a long minute. After a second, Hanna pulled away and said, "We can be at the train station in an hour."

Emily nodded and replied, "We should go apologize to Eloise and then head over."

Hanna groaned. "Who cares about Eloise? Let's just get going. You just met her. I care more about the friend I've known for years, lying scared and alone in a hospital bed."

"I doubt she's even conscious, but that's not the point. There's something about Eloise that I can't explain. I feel like I've known her as long as I've known you. And beside, it would be rude to just ditch her. It'll only be a few more minutes."

Hanna nodded and rolled her eyes, and the two walked back to the table. They found Eloise exactly where they left her, nonchalantly sipping water. It was unknown to them that she had heard everything they said.

Emily approached her, cleared her throat, and said, "Eloise, I am so, so sorry, but something came up at home and Hanna and I have to go back to Pennsylvania tonight." Eloise looked disappointed, but not shocked. The girls had made plans to go sight-seeing tomorrow- touristy stuff, but still fun.

"Are you sure you can't stay the night? It's getting awfully late."

"No, it's an emergency. We really have to go get on a train."

"The trains don't run this late," Eloise replied. "It's almost 11."

On a Friday night in NYC? Hanna looked over at Emily, doubting it but still pissed off. "Fabulous," she said sarcastically. "Is there any place we can rent a car?"

"Not unless you're 21," she replied. "But I have one. Well, it's Elijah's, but I can drive you if you like."

"Oh, Eloise, that'd be wonderful!" exclaimed Emily. "Thank you, so much. That is so sweet."

"Emily, we can't let her drive us," excalimed Hanna. "It's hours away." She said that, but what she was really thinking was, _are you seriously sure you want her to KNOW the reason we have to head back? Do you really want her to know about Aria?_

"Really, Hanna it's no trouble," said Eloise with an absentminded wave of her hand. "I just need to walk back to my apartment and grab it."

"Awesome," Emily exclaimed brightly. "Hanna and I will walk to the hotel and cancel the reservation and meet you back here in half an hour. Okay?"

Eloise nodded, and Hanna gaped at her. Were they really going to get in some stranger's car to get home? But she thought of Aria, and knew that they needed to get back to Rosewood, no matter what it took.


	13. A Discussion

"Afternoon, Eloise," a familiar, gravelly voice said in a thick British accent as she walked through the door. "Or should I say, 'MIDNIGHT, Eloise.'"

"Hilarious, Elijah. _Hilarious_," Eloise replied, running her fingers through her hair. She still hadn't gotten used to how straight it was after all of the chemical treatments and daily straightening, and it still felt unfamiliar and slippery. She turned on the light (Why the hell was he sitting in the dark? Weirdo) and found Elijah sitting on the couch, flipping through a familiar newspaper. It read "ROSEWOOD DAILY NEWS" at the top in big, bold letters.

"Where the hell have you been, Eloise? I thought we had plans for tonight." Eloise wasn't listening; she was looking in the mirror, pawing at her right eye. It had been itching for abut half an hour, and she felt like some dust or dirt had gotten in.

"Eloise, I thought we were researching tonight. I got the newspapers from Rosewood for the last week, like we planned." She ignored him and kept staring into her eye. She couldn't seem to locate the irritant that had fallen in, so she slipped out her contact lense. Her vision blurred a little and she dropped the curved lense, but it was easy to spot because of the vibrant green tint in the lense. She picked it up and stared back at her naked eye in the mirror. The familiar yet unfamiliar brown coloring of her iris sent shivers down her spine._ It's amazing_, she thought, _how foreign my body feels to me.  
_  
"I knew that I would have to make some sacrifices, living here with you, but we really have to keep at this." Still ignoring him, Eloise grabbed the small container of concealer that rested on her nightstand and applied more of the liquid cream on the center of her left cheek. _Shit_, she thought as she covered the dark mark on her cheek. Some time during the night she must have wiped her cheek, smearing the concealer and letting the brown mark be partially visible.

"Dammit, Spencer, listen to me!" Finally, she heard in, as soon as she heard her old name. She turned around and faced Elijah, murder in her eyes. She let out a sound that could only be described as a growl and angrily stalked towards him.

"That is NOT my name," she growled. "I am NOT Spencer. I'm Eloise."

"Woah, woah." Elijah's mouth gaped open and his eyes grew wide. He held up his hands, afraid she was going to start ripping out his throat. "Relax, Spence- Eloise."

She screamed, and it was visible to Elijah that she was struggling not to slap him. "STOP. THAT'S NOT MY NAME. SPENCER IS GONE. DO YOU HEAR ME, GONE?"

Elijah was still in shock and jumped off the couch, away from her. She had never reacted this strongly before when he called her by her given name. Normally she either got tense and nervous, remembering her past, or glared at him until he backtracked and called her Eloise. But today, she was absolutely furious. He had never seen her like this, so angry and out of control.

She was still shaking with fury when she collapsed on the couch and dissolved into sobs. WHAT? Now, Elijah was completely baffled. He awkwardly sat down next to her and patted her back. He liked to think he was a pretty sensitive guy, but he had no idea what to do. He had sat with Spencer, er, Eloise, plenty of times when she was crying before, either in post-surgery pain or in longing for her old life, but he had no idea what was wrong right now.

After a few long moments, she collected herself and looked up at him. "Wren," she whispered, moaning slightly. How long had it been since someone called him his real name, not the name on his fake ID? "Wren, I saw Emily and Hanna today."

He gasped. That was the last thing he expect her to say. "They found us? How? We were so careful."

She shook her head, wiping away tears. "They didn't find me. Emily ran into me on the street this afternoon. We talked, and then we met up with Hanna for dinner. They- Wren, they didn't recognize me."

He looked at her, sympathetically, and pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "That's good, remember? We need to stay hidden. And now they're gone, and you don't need to see them again."

She gulped and shook her head no. "I'm driving them into Rosewood tonight. I just stopped by to pick up the car keys."

Elijah opened his eyes wide. "Eloise, why would you go back to that place? Can't they just take the train."

"They need to get back as soon as possible," Eloise said, sniffling. "Besides, they don't know who I used to be."

Elijah looked at her with calm, concerned eyes. "That is definitely not a good idea. What if someone recognizes you?"

Eloise whimpered slightly. "Wren, both of them looked me right in the eye and believed me when I told them our story. They really thought I was Eloise. My best friends, they couldn't tell."

"But- but, it's just going to hurt."

Eloise couldn't make the words come out to explain what she'd overheard. "I have to, Wren. They're waiting for me outside. I'll hopefully be back tomorrow."

Then, Eloise slipped in her other contact and walked out the door. Wren called her names, both of them, but she didn't turn around.

Wren groaned, defeated, and grabbed his laptop. He flipped it open and opened his list of to do for the day. He sighed as he looked at each item angrily, realizing none of them had been done. How would they ever find Toby at this rate? How would they find Ali's killer? How could they ever get ANYTHING done while Eloise was running around New York with her old friends, pretending she just met them?

As he rolled his eyes, a message popped up on his laptop. He didn't recognize the screen name: HugsnKisses. He hadn't even received an IM in ages.

He opened the message to find an old picture of him surrounded by a few mental patients at Radley from when he volunteered there. _What? Did some one find me? _The only message said: **You look familiar. Now just where have I seen you before?**

Wren closed and his eyes, deleted the message, and shut down his lap top. _Probably just some poser, _he thought. _It would only freak out Eloise._ So, he didn't tell her.


	14. A History

"Inheritance," Eloise explained as she watched Emily and Hanna's mouths gape open as she drove up. "My mum bought it for my dad on his 50th.

"She bought him a corvette?" Hanna gasped. Whoever this girl was, she had money.

Eloise nodded. "He loved cars." So did Hanna, she knew, which is why she had borrowed her neighbor's corvette at the last second instead of driving her beat up SUV.

Emily looked over at Hanna, who was clearly trying not to drool. "You want shotgun, Han? I was hoping to fall asleep for a while anyways."

Hanna measured her apprehension about Eloise and how cool it would be to ride in the front of a corvette. _Shotgun_, she realized after a second, _no contest_. She slid into the front seat and the car growled to life as Eloise steered them onto the highways.

It was pretty quiet for a while, with only the sounds of Emily softly snoring in the backseat. It was late, but Hanna didn't dare nod off. Just because Emily was willing to whole-heartedly trust this stranger didn't mean Hanna would. She stared at the window for a while until Eloise said to her, "You know, you're not very good at masking your sheer and utter disdain for me."

Hanna looked at her; that was pretty bold and she was caught off guard. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, turning her head away. "I just …. have a lot going on right now, and I wasn't ready to party with a stranger just yet. Emily and I have a friend at home, who is ….'

"Who's in a hospital?" Eloise just blurted it out. She needed to know what she was walking into when they got to Rosewood, so it was time to bring it up.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Hanna asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I didn't mean to." Lie. "I don't even know who you were talking about." Lie.

Hanna sighed. "It's a really, really long story," she said sadly.

"Well, we have about two hours until we get there," Eloise said, eyes on the road. "And you might as well tell me so I don't look foolish during whatever I walk into."

Hanna looked over at Eloise again, really looked at her. At that moment, she understood what Emily had felt earlier. She felt safe admitting everything to this girl, even though she barely knew her. "When you guys were talking earlier, did Emily tell you about . . . Maya?"

Eloise nodded. She gasped and appropriately gave her condolences as if she was hearing the story for the first time when Emily told her, as if she had not lived it.

"Well, when Maya . . . died, Emily was really, really sad, which is understandable. But, I had seen her sad before. It was like she was _dissolving_. She spent all day in bed, crying and not moving. She couldn't eat; she couldn't sleep; she didn't shower; she could barely get up to go to the bathroom."

Eloise looked away from Hanna. She remembered those days all too well. She could remember Emily sobbing, unresponsive, calling Maya's name and waiting for someone to answer back.

"I know that Emily was hurting a lot, but for me and her other friends, it hurt too. A lot. To watch someone you love in that much pain. . . . it was painful for _me_. And I kept wondering why she didn't- it felt like she didn't love me enough to come back to real life."

Eloise kept looking away. She had felt like that too, but there was no way she could admit it to ANYONE out loud, much less some stranger in a corvette.

"But when Spencer died, I finally understood what Emily felt like. Everything just hurt. I can't really explain it, but it felt like there wasn't a good reason to go on. But after almost 2 weeks of not leaving my bed, I finally saw myself in a mirror, and I looked just like Emily did when Maya died: messy hair, sallow skin, ripped clothing, ridiculously skinny after barely eating. When I saw myself, all I could think was, 'What would Spencer think if she saw me like this?'

"So, I called Emily, and she had been thinking the same thing. So, we cried for a while over the phone, and then we both got up, took a shower, and went out to lunch together. Everyone was . . . staring at us, in the restaurant I mean. But I just kept telling myself that it would kill Spencer to see me and Emily at home, withering away at her death. And Emily and I are best friends . . . we've been through so much together. She was there, helping me out through all of it."

Tears streaked down Eloise's face, so she tried to turn her head as far away from Hanna as possible. She couldn't see Eloise cry, she couldn't. Eloise had thought about her friends constantly at first, but then less and less frequently as it became too painful. Not once had she thought of what Hanna was describing to her.

"It was hard for a while, but we had each other to pull ourselves up. But the problem is. . . Emily told you about Aria, right?"

"She mentioned a friend named Aria, but not much else."

"That's who we need to see tonight. Emily and I got ourselves out of that funk, but Aria never could. No matter what we said to her, we just couldn't break through. As bad as it got for us, for Aria it was 100 times worse. She and Spencer had a special bond, kind of like me and Emily. She was in so, so much pain when Spencer killed herself. It was like there was a black rain cloud surrounding her that she couldn't escape, couldn't save herself.

"About a week and a half after Emily and I got out again, Aria had finally gotten out of bed, but she didn't leave her house. She found a bottle of vodka and got . . . drunk. Really drunk. She drunk the whole bottle, straight, and she's really tiny. It doesn't take much to get her under. After a while, she climbed to the top of the staircase in her and threw herself down. Her parents don't know if she tripped, or if she tried to kill herself, or what. But they found her out cold at the bottom of the steps, lying in her own vomit. They took her to the ER, and the doctors found out that she hit her head, hard. She had her first seizure that night."

Eloise kept her eyes on the road, willing herself not to gasp. "Epilepsy?" she choked out. She tried to make her voice sound even, but she knew it was quivering.

"Yeah," Hanna responded. "She's had two more since then, and I guess one a few hours ago. And she's still not herself. She spends all her time crying and sobbing at looking at pictures of Spencer and her dead boyfriend. It's like she's gone."

Hanna grabbed a tissue from her purse and wiped her eyes. "I used to have four best friends, and now I only have one. Two are dead, and one is just. . . gone. It's not fair."

Eloise swallowed and said, "Is there any chance of her coming back?"

"The doctors are trying to put her on medicine for depression, but it's hard because they are trying to put her on Epilepsy medication, too. Her parents and doctors think she's suicidal, just like Spencer."

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"Do you think she's suicidal?" Eloise asked. She knew that Hanna and Emily knew Aria better than any doctor would. Their opinions were the only things that mattered to her.

Hanna sighed slowly and a pregnant pause filled the car. She turned around quickly to make sure that Emily was still fast asleep. She was. "I think she has every right to be," Hanna whispered. "In six months, her parents got divorced, her boyfriend died, her best friend killed herself- it's, it's just so much. I don't think Aria wants to die; I think she just wants to be happy again."


	15. A Reunion

_Don't cry_, Eloise told herself. _Don't cry. Everyone will see your red eyes. Hold it together._

But that was much easier said and done. She was sitting alone in Aria's hospital room on a visitor's chair. She snuck in a few minutes ago after everyone cleared out. It was the first time seeing her friend in months; she needed this privacy. She thought she was prepared to see Aria there, but her imagination of the pain she would feel hadn't even come close to the gut crushing reality of seeing Aria hooked up to a thousand wires, sick and weak in a hospital bed, post epileptic seizure. Somewhere, deep down, she knew it was all her fault.

She had covered her trail so well. The day she had called Wren, he told her exactly how many pills to take, how deep she could cut herself and not die, just sleep deep enough that he could save her at the hospital. She remembered the sting of the razor, how the pills burned in her stomach, how she dizzily drifted off into an almost peaceful slumber.

She never told Wren, but she woke up when her mother came home and found her. Eloise could remember the scene perfect: her mother found her, starting screaming and crying, and called 911. It had scared the life -literally- out of Eloise to see her mom lose it like that. She was absolutely hysterical, and it killed Eloise to see her so upset. She fell back asleep in the ambulance, too tired to think about any of it.

When she woke, she was in the back of Wren's car, achy and dizzy. He told her that he had done everything she had instructed him to: Tell everyone she had died. Say that her body had been cremated by mistake. Assure them that the doctors did everything they could. Pump her stomach and give her a blood transfusion. Put her in the back of his car, and just drive. Drain both of their bank accounts so they had enough cash to live off for a while. Call his buddy who specialized in fake identities, in making someone vanish completely and having someone new rise from the ashes, some one who knew how to change their fates.

They fled to New York. It was a city of thousands; who would notice two runaways? They stayed in motels and ate McDonalds for 3 days until their identities were ready. Wren picked them up one night while Spencer was resting, real identities of two British immigrants who had died in a car crash. Ages 19 and 29, brother and sister, and the brother even had a medical degree from Oxford- the perfect pair of identities.

When Wren brought home the birth certificates, she was pretty unsure. But then she heard her new name for the first time- Eloise. Growing up, Spencer had loved the Eloise at the Plaza picture books. Eloise was fearless- even at 6 years old, she needed nothing and no one to survive. That's when Spencer knew they were going to make it.

She thought about her friends and family all the time, crying and daydreaming about their lives going on without her. But after a while, she realized how hard she had made their lives. She was just an inconvenience to her parents. She hoped that they would miss her, but they would move on. And her friends? After what Toby had told her in the hospital, she realized that it was her fault A had gotten so close to them. Once she went away, A would leave her friends alone. She knew they would feel pain, but she was sure they were better off without her.

But this was living proof that she wrong. Aria clearly wasn't better off; she was lying in a hospital bed! Eloise knew she had to do something; this was her responsibility. She had gotten Aria into this mess, and she had to get her out. But what could she possibly do? She couldn't reveal herself to Aria; that was out of the question. But Aria wouldn't be comforted by some stranger, now would she?

Eloise rose from her chair and stood over Aria's bed. She watched her friend's chest rise and fall with each careful breath under her oxygen mask. She gently caressed Aria's face with one finger, tracing lines along her brow bone, the bridge of her nose, her cheekbones, her temples, her lips, her chin. She felt a protective kind of love for Aria, the burden of her past mistakes, and she knew that she would never let anyone hurt her friend of them again.

"I'm so sorry," Eloise whispered as she twirled a strand of Aria's hair. "This is my fault. I will never, ever let anything happen to you again." She knew it was true as she said it. Eloise decided in that moment that from then on, she would never let Aria come into harm's way again. _  
_

"I'll do anything for you," she said, staring at Aria's face. "Just stay safe. Please." Eloise squeezed Aria's tiny, pale hand. It felt cold and lifeless, like her body was struggling to stay alive. "I will NEVER let anything hurt you again."

Aria stirred slightly in her sleep, so Eloise moved her hand. She kissed her friend's forehead gently, and whispered, "Wake up, Aria." And at that moment, she did, with Eloise's face just inches from her own. Aria took one look at the face in front of her and said the name of the face, the person she recognized standing over her, the friend she had been aching for to return.

"Spencer."


	16. A Conversation, part 3

_Conversation, 11:30 AM_

PRETTYMONAV: Hey baby xoxo  
THE_DUDE: morning, beautiful. how'd u sleep?  
PRETTYMONAV: okay :/ the girl in the room next to me was howling all night. this place is crazy.  
THE_DUDE: u can come and go with the key card i made u, u know. y don't u just stay out? come live with me?  
PRETTYMONAV: u know i'd love to, honey, but it would be all over the news. "crazy girl escapes radley. keep your guns ready."  
THE_DUDE: mona, stop. we both know you aren't crazy. u took a gigantic bullet for this team, and every1 really appreciates that and respects that.  
PRETYMONAV: fat load of good it did for us in the long run. we haven't done a THING since toby left. why is Hugs n Kisses On My Ass holding off for so long?  
THE_DUDE: i have no idea. i think it's because of all the shit going on with aria. with her in and out of hospitals, it is so much harder for us to get something good planned.  
PRETTYMONAV: i just don't c the point anymore. im pretty sure they r all living in hell. did i tell u that hanna came to visit me again 2 days ago?  
THE_DUDE: no, u didn't. what did she say?  
PRETTYMONAV: oh god, baby, it was awful. i was doing the silent girl thing cause they switched my meds again and i was too afraid to talk to her. she sat there telling me about how she was planning a trip into the city for spencer's 18th birthday because spencer always DREAMED of being 18 and never got to. and then she started saying how none of aria's doctors knew what they were doing, and she was afraid aria was going to kill herself again, and then she started SOBBING and HUGGING me.  
THE_DUDE: she hugged you? r u serious?  
PRETTYMONAV: i am. she was crying about how all her friends had left her except for emily, and emily already had 1 foot out the crazy door, and she needed me to come back 2 her, and she missed me so much, and she loved me and needed me to come back.  
THE_DUDE: mona, i know that must have been hard for u. i am so, so sorry baby. y didn't u tell me sooner?  
PRETTYMONAV: i didn't want any1 else to know. then the team would have planned something to hurt her even more, and i don't know if i could have dealt with that.  
THE_DUDE: i understand, mona. she was ur best friend for so long, but. . .  
PRETTYMONAV: my ONLY friend  
THE_DUDE: and i get what it's like to be alone. u know i do. but r u seriously talking about leaving the team?  
PRETTYMONAV: well, not anymore since we aren't even doing anything  
THE_DUDE: well, hugs n kisses said the Plan is still going to happen. she just hasn't picked a right time  
PRETTYMONAV: will there ever be a right time?  
THE_DUDE: u heard what she said. she has to find wren. if wren swoops down and ruins everything, the whole Plan is over.  
PRETTYMONAV: ik. i just don't know if i need to see hanna get hurt anymore.  
THE_DUDE: it's not just about her, mona. it's about what these girls did to all of us! hanna bullied u 2, back in freshmen year. u remember that day u came to me about how she put a worm in ur sandwich?  
PRETTYMONAV: god yes, i was so mortified :(  
THE_DUDE: that was the whole inspiration behind the worms in the chinese food. mona, she isn't a saint. she's done a lot of bad things  
PRETTYMONAV: yes, but people can change, can't they? i mean, u did.  
THE_DUDE: how did i change?  
PRETTYMONAV: well, u love me. u didn't always used to  
THE_DUDE: i told u never to mention that, mona  
PRETTYMONAV: u used to love hanna, and now u don't  
THE_DUDE: mona, stop. i don't want to talk about this  
PRETTYMONAV; isn't tha doing this stuff in the first place?  
THE_DUDE: no, mona, it's not, and u know it! i've been a part of this longer than u have. u don't know what ur saying. and it's not all about hanna 4 me. all of them need 2 pay.  
PRETTYMONAV: i don't understand how ur okay with all of this! u loved her, y r u okay with torturing her now?  
THE_DUDE: i have 2 go  
PRETTYMONAV: wait!  
PRETTYMONAV: baby, please  
PRETTYMONAV: i love u  
THE_DUDE: love u too, mona. bye.

_Conversation Ended, 12:02 PM_


	17. A Nightmare

"And this is the guest bedroom," Byron Montgomory said, opening the door to what Eloise thought had been Mike's room. "This used to be Aria's brother's room, but he's at boarding school in Maine now." BOARDING SCHOOL? Well, that answered that question.

"The bathroom is right here in your room," he said, opening the door that Eloise knew led to a generous tiled room with a toilet, sink, and tub/shower. "It also connects to Aria's room. Is it alright if you to share?" Eloise nodded. She had been on a house tour for the last half hour, nodding and pretending she didn't know this house like the back of her hand. How could she tell Byron that she knew that the hot and cold water taps on the kitchen sink were backwards? How could she dodge his surprised glance when she knew not to step on the step that creaks? How could she admit that she knew which channel was Fox and which one was CNN because she had spent endless afternoons here flipping between The Big Bang Theory reruns and world news for Social Studies group projects?

Aria peeked her head in the door and stepped in carefully. Byron glanced between his daughter and the stranger hoisting two suitcases onto the bed.

"Well, I'll let you get settled," he said finally and walked out. Eloise unlocked the first suitcase and began to unpack her clothing as Aria sat down next to her on the bed.

"Is the room okay?" Aria asked. She was eyeing Eloise with curious expression, her hazel eyes wide and suspicious.

Eloise nodded. "Thank you again so much for letting me stay here to finish high school. It really means more than you know."

Aria smiled at her. "Well, I figured someone as smart as you deserves a second chance to finish school."

A shiver went up Eloise's spine, a shiver she tried to hide. She froze and turned to Aria. "Who told you I was smart?"

Aria shrugged. "I guess I just assumed. You seemed pretty clever during all the times we've talked." She jumped off the bed and walked to the door that connected the guest room to the bathroom. "I'll be in my room if you need me. Right through this door, okay?"

Eloise nodded, and Aria closed the door. Eloise grabbed her phone and texted Elijah: "Settling in. Awk but im ok. Miss u. -El." Then, she flopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

She still couldn't believe that she was really going to live with Aria for the rest of the semester. After she woke up in the hospital room, Aria screamed for her, reached for her, and began to cry hysterically, bringing everyone in the hallways in the room to see what was going on. Eloise played the part of the confused bystander as Aria called out for her and tried to follow, but was eventually sedated. Emily and Hanna whisked Eloise out of the room and down to the cafeteria, apologizing for whatever hell she had just gone through. If they only knew the half of it.

After Emily and Hanna told Aria all about Eloise, Aria begged her father to let Eloise live with them for the semester. Eloise needed to finish school, she said, and any friend of Hanna and Emily was a friend of her. When her father told her no, she screamed and cried for Eloise to stay with her. Byron had grown soft in the last few months and gave in with just a few minutes of tearful begging.

Elijah had refused to allow Eloise to go back to Rosewood. "It's too dangerous," he declared. "You could be recognize!" Eloise ignored him. Ever since the night she first visited Rosewood, he had been on edge and jumped whenever his phone buzzed. He spent 24 hours a day on his laptop. Eloise had no idea where is his weird behavior came from, and despite Elijah's warnings, she packed her bags and moved everything she needed back to Rosewood the day after Aria was released from the hospital.

Byron walked back into the room a few minutes after. "Oh, a few more things. Aria isn't allowed to drive, so I'll take you two at school at about 7:45. It's normally at 8, but the guidance counselor wants you there early to talk about your schedule. Also," he said, lowering his voice, "Aria normally has bad dreams and wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. We're still sorting out her medication, but for now, she normally falls back asleep in about half an hour. There's nothing anyone can do, so don't worry about it, okay?"

"Okay," she responded, but inside she was screaming. How could he let his own daughter cry herself to sleep? She would definitely have to change that.

But Eloise looked around the room. Spencer had the authority to tell Byron he should go in and comfort her while she cried, but she wasn't Spencer anymore. She was Eloise, and Eloise had a LOT to learn if she was going to blend into this new life.

* * *

Eloise tossed and turned that night, uncomfortable and afraid. What would she walk into tomorrow? She was taking nearly all of the same classes Spencer had last fall. Would her teachers recognize her handwriting, her color coding system, her impeccable neatness? Would she go into autopilot and head straight to her old locker, write "Property of Spencer Hastings" in all her textbooks, sit down at her old lab station during physics?

No, she realized after a moment. She could explain all of that. What would be hardest is meeting Caleb for the *first time,* shaking his hand politely and trying to forget how he showed her how to hack Maya's website. Emily introducing Paige while Eloise tried to pretend how she didn't accuse her of being A all those months ago. Making polite conversation with Holden and trying to forget the day he drove her and Aria for an hour after Ezra died. Having to ask if Emily was free in the afternoon, already knowing that swim practice was two hours every day. Watching Hanna run into the bathroom crying when she inevitably failed yet _another_ calculas test and not being able to hug her close and remind her of the time she got the highest grade in the class on the midterm. How could she? Eloise wasn't even there; how could she know?

Suddenly, Eloise was jerked from her dread. She heard someone scream bloody murder for a few long seconds. It was a girl's voice, high pitched and afraid. It took half a second for her to realize it was Aria. She jumped from her bed and sprinted to the bathroom, rushing to Aria's room. But just as Eloise was about to grab the door nob into Aria's bedroom, the scream stopped. It was silent for a few more seconds, and Eloise pressed her ear to the door. Through the door, she heard muffled sobs slowing growing louder.

Eloise yanked open the door and found Aria lying on her bed, tears streaming down her face, a pillow clutched tightly to her chest. A blanket was loosely draped over her as she shook. She looked more weak and pathetic then Spencer had ever seen her, even when she was in the hospital. She looked up at Eloise for a second, and gasped. "Eloise," she choked out. "I- I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

Eloise shook her head no. She wanted to climb into bed, crawl under the covers, and wrap her arms around Aria. If Spencer were here, that's what she would do. But Spencer wasn't here; Eloise was. "Aria, is there anything I can do?"

"No," Aria whispered. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be quieter. Go back to sleep." Then, she rolled over so her back was to Eloise. She still shook with heavy sobs. Eloise leaned down and placed her hand on Aria's back, as much physical contact as she dare. But Aria flinched away and buried herself deeper in the blankets. "I'm sorry, Eloise," she sobbed. "Just go away."

It hit Eloise like a punch in the gut. She felt like she was breaking a promise. _I swore that I would never let anything hurt her, _thought Eloise. _Here is something that's hurting her, and I can't fix it. _

_She's crying because Spencer's gone. Why can't I make her feel better?_

Eloise dashed back into her room, gasping, and collapsed on her bed. She pressed a pillow to her face as she weighed her options. She couldn't just leave Aria there alone and crying. But, Aria wouldn't be comforted by Eloise. But, Eloise was all she had; Spencer was gone! Wasn't she?

Eloise walked over to the dresser in her room and looked in the mirror. Spencer's face was still there. She wiped of the concealer that she kept on 24/7 and her birthmark was visible. She quickly slipped out her contacts and she looked into her brown, brown eyes. Without the green tint from the contacts, they were Spencer's eyes. She ran her fingers through her straight, black hair. Considering for a moment, she grabbed a pony tail holder and tied it behind her head. In the dark, it was barely noticeable how black it was. Looking in the mirror again, she really saw Spencer.

_Just remember,_ she told herself, _I may look like Spencer, but I'm still Eloise_.


	18. A Blast from the Past

That same night, Wren tossed and turned in his bed. He was so nervous about Eloise moving back to Rosewood. He was positive she would get recognized by SOME ONE, especially after he received 31 more photos of himself from the HugsnKisses person.

He was so confused. All of them were of volunteering at Radley, some from even years ago. He had helped out there even before he was in college, and one or two of the shots were from that time.

The photos were all taken when he was in the day room with a group of young girls in the ward. Some of them he had taken on his own camera, but in most he had no idea that some one was taking a photo of him at all.

He didn't know what they meant. Yes, some one had recognized him. But what were they going to do with that information? Wren didn't have any family still around. Yes, he had a few friends in his past life, but he made new ones. He didn't have Spencer's perfect alibi -death,- so his vanishing was a bit more suspect. But he assumed that no one would care.

Suddenly, he heard a loud beeping noise from across the room. It was his laptop he realized as his stomach sunk. He jumped out of bed and ran to retrieve it, and opened it up to find another message from HugsnKisses. This one was a video of him in the board room. He was sitting at one of the table holding note cards and addressing the board of Radley's department mental stability.

Nervous, he pressed play, and he heard a younger version of himself say, "And so, I feel that it is in the best interests of patient 49721 to remain in Radley's facilities until this patient has gained stronger mental stability." That was it. That was the entire clip.

Wren had done evaluations of hundreds of patients when he was at Radley. He had no idea which patient was number 49721. Was that the person sending this message?

He quickly typed back a response: "Who are you?"

The response was instantaneous: "I am going to avenge 49721."

Then, Wren's computer made a sizzling noise and went black.

**This night marks the next big turning point in my story. Spencer/Eloise is living with Aria, and Wren is being stalked by HugsnKisses. Does Aria know who Eloise is REALLY? Who is Hugsnkisses? What does she have to do with patient 49721? And what is going to happen to poor little Wren? Keep reading to find out! Next section is coming soon. **


	19. A Sleepover

"Let's get this party started!" crowed Hanna, unearthing a bottle of wine from under her bed. Eloise, Emily, and Aria cheered as they dropped their overnight bags on the floor of Hanna's bedroom.

"Naughty girl," Aria chastised in a faux British accent, and Eloise rolled her eyes playfully. They all loved making fun of Eloise's accent and her strange vocabulary. Every time she said something like "jolly" or "cheeky" or "pissed," her friends would burst out laughing and mock her relentlessly. Eloise pretended to be bothered, but she took it all in good humor.

"I am so happy that test is over," Emily groaned. "Bring on the ice cream, booze, and Truth or Dare Extreme.'

"WHAT on EARTH is Truth or Dare Extreme?" Eloise asked. She had been to half a dozen sleep overs with Emily, Hanna, and Aria in the two months since moving to Rosewood, most of which involved either ice cream or booze, but none of which involved truth or dare, extreme or otherwise.

"New gift from your aunt Amanda?" asked Aria, munching on a bowl of popcorn Hanna set down when they went upstairs.

"Yup, and I promised my mom that I'd use it at least once," Emily said. She began to explain to Eloise how her aunt Amanda was constantly giving her gifts fit for a 9-year-old and that she always used them at least once because her mom forced her. Eloise nodded as Emily explain, but she was secretly thinking about the time they gave each other makeovers with the horrendous glitter makeup Emily received for her 17th birthday and the disgusting child-slippers she had made from the Decorate Your Slippers fun set after Christmas that same year. Eloise was sure that her parents had thrown them out when they sold all of Spencer's stuff to help ease the pain of their memories right before they moved to a small Cape-Cod house to deal with their grief. Well, that is what google said they did, anyways.

Hanna poured everyone a dixie-cup sized amount of wine while Emily and Aria set up the game on Hanna's floor. Eloise felt her phone buzz, so she sat down on the bed and read the message. "El, member not 2 take ur contacts out when u sleep. B careful. -Eli."

Eloise smiled and shook her head. He was always warning her to be careful, to remember to put on concealer, to ask if she was free to come visit him in the city to work on- stuff. He had become so NERVOUS and jumpy in the last two months. Every weekend, he demanded that she come into the city so they could work together, but she always declined. He was furious that she wasn't taking their situation seriously, but since A hadn't contacted her or any of her friends since Spencer had "died," what was the point anymore?

Besides, she was having so much FUN! It was great having friends again, friends to giggle and share secrets with. With her family and Toby out of Rosewood, there was nothing too painful that reminded her of her past. In the two months since moving in with Aria, she felt better than she ever had. Mike had gone to boarding school on a lacrosse scholarship, and Ella and Byron were busy working full time to cover Aria's medical bills. So most of the time, it was just the two of them, having fun alone together. It made Eloise feel like she was finally making right on throwing Aria into a downward spiral after Spencer died.

Plus, Emily and Hanna hung out with them a ton, so it felt like nothing had changed between them- the others just didn't know it. They could still be the fantastic four, minus the Spencer part of the equation and the tormenting by A.

Going back to school had been great. She wasn't trying so hard to get A's because she knew that Aria was repeating the grade for missing so much school, so she could stay with them and go to Hollis next year. She wasn't so concerned with getting into an Ivy anymore because she wasn't so concerned about her future. She could barely picture living another year; who had time to think about 10 years of college and grad school? She would be just fine with a few easy classes at Hollis. Besides, how could she ever leave Aria now? As Eloise sat down on the floor by her friends, the only people in her life today that she was sure that she loved, she knew that she could never want anything else in the world.

"So, this is basically how it works," said Emily, scanning over the instructions. "You roll the die, and if you get an odd number you choose a card from the truth pile, and a dare card for an even number." Emily set two stacks of cards on floor- a green stack that said Truth in big, bubbly cartoon letters, and a blue stack that said Dare in the same script.

"Easy enough," said Hanna rolling the die. It landed on 2- and even number. She grabbed a blue card with DARE written on it in bubbly letters. She squinted and read, '"Kiss a wall?"' Her friends starting laughing ridiculously.

"You picked the card, Hanna!" crowded Aria. "You gotta do it!"

Hanna shrugged and stood up. She walked over to a wall, wiped it off with her sleeve, and pressed her body to it. She licked her lips and proceeded to make out with the wall, moaning and whispering, "Oh, baby," every few seconds. She even pretended to grab the wall's, er, anatomy. The others collapsed in a heap, laughing hysterically.

"You're such a ham," Eloise said as Hanna sat down with a bow. Hanna made a kissy face at her and tossed Emily the die.

Emily shook it for a few seconds before she let it go. 5- odd. Emily grabbed a truth card and read it aloud: "'If you were locked in a crate with someone in the room, who would you pick?' Easy! Aria, because she's tiniest."

Emily froze, realizing what she just said. Everyone got really quiet for a second, and Aria grabbed another handful of popcorn and chewed thoughtfully. She swallowed and said, "And because I'm a season, pro right? It's not all it's cracked up to be."

The girls all laughed, and Hanna shot Emily a wide smile as Aria reached for the die. Eloise pretended not to notice. In the last two months, Aria had been getting exponentially better. She was giggling again, made jokes, and bought her friends cookies and flowers just for the hell of it. She had 3 more seizures since Eloise moved in with her, but they had both been quick and easy with a smooth recovery.

No one was quite sure why she had turned around like she had. The doctors thought it was her new antidepressant medication finally taking effect; her parents thought it was just an emotional breakthrough, like Emily and Hanna had; Emily and Hanna thought it was having Eloise, a new friend who knew nothing about her past and was able to give her new memories, new fun times that had nothing to do with Spencer. Emily and Hanna were the only ones who were even close to right, not that Eloise would tell them why Aria was suddenly doing so much better.

The die landed on the carpet with a 1 facing up. Aria reached for a truth card and read it out loud. "What is the strangest dream you've ever had?"

"Ooohhh, lemme guess, the JASON dreams?" asked Hanna. "He does have a nice-"

"Shut UP, Han!" Aria yelled, throwing a pillow in her direction. "I wasn't even gonna say that."

"Wait, so you've had a STRANGER dream?" asked Emily.

Aria blushed deep read, eyes at her lap. She thought for a second and looked up at her friends. "You guys are gonna think I'm crazy," she said.

"Oh, you HAVE to tell us now!" yelled Hanna. "WHO did you dream about sleeping with this time?"

"No one!" said Aria, blushing an even deeper red. "I have Holden!" That wasn't exactly true. Holden had been really distant from her ever since Spencer died, and the two of them hadn't had the easiest relationship. It was painful for both of them to be together, but they never broken up. Aria was pretty sure she knew why: what kind of bitch dumps the guy who stayed with you thick and thin, and what kind of guy dumps a girl spiraling into depression and struggling with Epilepsy? She was sure that in the course of a few months, they would either be broken up or the next Rosewood power couple. That is, once her medications got sorted out. Then again, she did like having a guy to fall back on all through the hell of the last few months, albeit a nervous and awkward one.

"So, what did you dream about doing to Holden?" teased Hanna.

"HANNA. NOTHING happened. And it's not that kind of a dream."

"Then what kind of dream is it?" asked Eloise. She was actually curious.

Aria twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "It's about Spencer."

The awkward silence filled the room again. "What about her?" Emily asked tenderly.

"Remember how I used to wake up screaming and crying in the middle of the night?" Aria said, smiling down at her lap. Hanna and Emily nodded, but Eloise just looked away from her. "Well, one night I was crying, and suddenly, Spencer was sitting there next to me. She hugged me, and rubbed my back, and- she tells me that everything was going to be okay, and that she will always be there to take care of me.

"'Tells?"' asked Hanna. "You've had this dream more than once?"

"Every night," Aria said. Her face was practically as red as a balloon now. "I've stopped crying and screaming, but I still wake up. She's always there, and we just sit there for a while with her hugging me. She says that she misses me and that she's sorry she's left me, and then I tell her about everything that's happening at school and stuff, and about you guys. She says your new haircut is cute, by the way, Em."

Emily self-consciously ran her fingers through her new shaggy haircut. She had been unsure about it, but Eloise urged her to get it. She did think it looked great, but there were other things on her mind. "And you have this dream every night?" asked Emily. Her voice gave away more than just a little concern. "When did this start?"

"Just after I got out of the hospital in late January. Like I said, it's just a dream," Aria said with a shrug. "I know she isn't real, but it's nice. It's like having a little guardian angel there, taking care of me."


	20. A Concern

It was silent again for a long time. Aria tried to read her friends faces, but her phone started ringing loudly. "It's Dr. Thompson," she said, reading the caller ID. "He probably just wants to know how the new Epilepsy drug is working. I'll be right back." Aria answered the phone and walked out the door.

"Eloise, would you mind seeing if the pizza guys is here?" asked Emily. She and Eloise both knew that he wasn't; the doorbell hadn't rung. But Eloise got up and left the room. As soon as she stepped outside, she pressed her ear to the door and looked in through the small crack between the door and the wall.

"WHAT the HELL is she talking about?" gasped Emily. "Something is not okay."

"Em, maybe it is what it is," Hanna replied nervously. "Maybe she's just dreaming about Spencer because she misses her, and that's all there is to it."

"Han, do you believe that?"

"Well, no, but it's the only explanation I have. It's probably her mind doing something weird to help calm her down."

Emily stood up and immediately fell back down on Hanna's bed. "This doesn't sound normal. It sounds crazy. I can't believe that she is just dreaming that every night."

"Why would you say that?"

"Why would Spencer tell Aria she likes my haircut?"

"Well, I don't know!" Hanna stood up, her arms shaking. "What are you saying, Em? You think it's actually Spencer there comforting her?'

"Han, come on, I didn't say that. No matter how much I want that to be true, I know that it isn't. I just think- what if maybe she's hallucinating it?"

"HALLUCINATING?"

Emily nodded. "Maybe it has to do with her medication. Or when she hit her head. I just don't think it's a normal dream."

"Well, what do you want to do about it?" said Hanna, her voice softening.

"I think that. . . . maybe she should get tested, just to make sure it isn't something serious."

"No! That last thing she needs is more testing. Emily, she's finally back! We can't lose her again. I can't lose her."

Emily stood up and grabbed Hanna's hand. "You won't," Emily whispered. "I promise."

At that moment, Eloise's phone rang, LOUDLY. "Shit," she whispered quietly and dashed down the stairs. The caller ID said that it was Elijah. She saw Aria talking with her doctor in the living room, so she stepped out Hanna's front door.

"Elijah, what do you want?" she growled into the phone. "I told you, I'm sleeping over with the girls tonight!"

"Eloise, you need to come back to New York," Elijah said evenly. "I am done with this. You are hopping on the next train here."

"What?" cried Eloise. "Elijah, why? What's so important?"

"Eloise, I have given up my entire life for you, to come to New York with you to figure things out. But you aren't even here! We need to move forward with the plan."

"Elijah," she cried, exasperated. "Neither of us even know what the plan IS anymore. And why should it matter? A hasn't surfaced, and neither has Toby. We just need to get on with our lives now."

"How can you say that?" he yelled. "We need answers, Eloise. They are here somewhere. Remember the giant breakthrough we had about Hanna ? That was when we were working, researching. There are ANSWERS, here, Eloise. We just need to find them."

Eloise rolled her eyes. "That stuff about Jenna was just a lucky find. Besides, didn't that solve the whole mystery?"

"Um, not really," drawled Elijah. "We still don't know who the leader is, or what she wants."

"What makes you so sure that it's a she?" asked Eloise.

"Just a feeling," Elijah mumbled. Suddenly, Eloise heard a noise in the back ground, the sound of a door opening. Elijah's voice turned urgent. "Eloise, I have to go."

"Elijah, wait-" But she was to late. He had already hung up the phone.

"Hey, you ordered the pizza?" a scrappy college student asked as he jogged up towards Hanna's house. "I got an order at this address for some pizza."

Eloise nodded and handed him a twenty from her purse. "Keep the change," she said, and yanked a cardboard pizza box from his hands. Then, she opened the door of Hanna's house and jogged inside, pushing all thoughts of Elijah, New York, and A out of here mind.

Meanwhile, Elijah was shaking as he stared at yet another message from HugsnKisses. This one was just text:

**"You are going to pay for what you did. Just you wait."**

Elijah ran his fingers through his hair and typed a response:

**"What do you want me to do?"**

The response was instantaneous:

**"Stop hunting for answers. And stop talking with that little girl of yours. I don't know who she is or what she has to do with you, but you don't want her getting hurt, do you? Stop digging. -HugsnKisses"**

**"Who are you?"**

**"Some one you have wronged. Some one who you have hurt. Some one who is going to get revenge."**


	21. An Eavesdropper

"She won't be done for another two or three hours," Ella Montgomory informed Emily and Hanna brightly as they sat nervously in the Rosewood Memorial Hospital waiting room. "You girls don't have to wait around here."

"Are you sure?" said Hanna. They had promised Aria that they would be there when the brain scan was over.

"Absolutely," said Ella. "Go grab a cup of coffee or do some shopping. Aria isn't permitted visitors. I'll call you when she's almost done." Emily and Hanna were hesitant, but Ella nearly pushed them out the door. "Go, girls, have fun," she said."You're young and beautiful; enjoy it." She said it with a smile on her face, but it seemed strained.

Emily and Hanna linked arms and strolled out of the waiting room. Emily turned back for just a moment and saw Ella sitting on a couch, wiping her eyes with a tissue. Emily started to walk back, but Hanna pulled her towards the exit. "She probably wants to be alone," Hanna whispered, and the two dashed out the door.

The two strolled down the street silently, arm in arm, for a few minutes before Hanna cleared her throat. "Do you want to stop by CeCe's store? Bumble, I think it's called.I could use some new earrings."

"Sure," Emily whispered, not looking in Hanna's direction. "I haven't seen her in a while."

Hanna sighed. "Cheer up, Em. We've got to keep our heads up." She tried to sound rational, logical, although nothing was making sense. "She'll get the testing done, get put on some medication, and then everything will go back to normal."

Emily looked at her sadly. "Nothing is normal, Han. Maya's dead. Spencer's dead. Toby's been missing for months. Aria's turned into some one I can't even recognize anymore. NOTHING can ever be normal again."

Hanna sighed. Since they decided to talk to Aria's parents after the sleepover a week ago, Aria had been going through endless testing. Her parents had so many concerns, and Aria was pissed at Hanna and Emily beyond belief.

Hanna released Emily's hand and stopped walking. She looked Emily dead in the eye with a stern expression and said, "Well, we should at least put up appearances." Her face broken into a smile as she said, "Now, we are going to spend lots of money and you MUST have a good time. I REQUIRE it. I DEMAND it, okay?"

Emily smiled sadly and said, "Sure. If we must. I'll text Eloise and have her meet us there."

Hanna rolled her eyes. "Does she have to? I thought it might be fun to have a little you and me time. What ever happened to Hanily? We haven't hung out together in ages."

"I know, Han," said Emily, "But I feel like Eloise is having a hard time adjusting. She could use some more friend time."

"Fine," Hanna grumbled, and Emily quickly sent out a text to Eloise. Aria seemed to be taking a liking towards Eloise. Why did Emily need to go out of the way to be welcoming?

Eloise sent the text and grabbed Hanna's hand. Then, the two strolled down the block until they were at CeCe's shop's front door. They opened the door and walked inside, only to dash right back out.

"What the hell is she doing here?" whispered Hanna as she glared into the shop. CeCe was showing a pale, dark haired girl with thick, black sunglasses some scented candles. The girl took of her sunglasses to examine one, showing her laser like eyes. Jenna.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Hanna, she's allowed to go shopping. CeCe's store is growing; she has tons of customers now."

"Yeah, but I didn't even know they knew each other," said Hanna, angrily. She opened the door as quietly as she could and dashed behind a mannequin. Emily gestured for Hanna to come out, but Hanna wanted to hear what Jenna and CeCe were saying.

"So, who is this gift for?" CeCe said. "A man or a woman?"

"A man," said Jenna. "My age. I want to get him something special."

"Oooooh," said CeCe knowingly. "Is he cute?"

"Oh, no," said Jenna, shaking her head. "It's not for a boyfriend, it's for. . . a family member."

"What kind of family member?" asked CeCe, pressing gently. _Nosey, isn't she? _thought Hanna, rolling her eyes. She always had that manipulative quality about her.

"Um..." Jenna hesitated before spitting it out. "My brother. I haven't seen him in a long time, and he's coming to visit me."

Hanna gasped and dashed out the door. She ran to Emily what she had heard. It could only mean one thing. She grabbed Emily by the wrist and yanked her down the street while her friend protested.

When they had run a few blocks, Hanna released her friend's hand. She bent over, breathing heavily. She was gasping for breath, and it felt like her heart was running a million miles per hour. "Hanna, what's going on?" cried Emily, hopelessly confused. Hanna caught her breath finally, stood up straight, and looked Emily in the eye.

"It's Toby," she said. "He's coming back."

Five minutes later, Eloise strolled into Bumble to find Jenna and CeCe arguing about something. Her eyes went wide with recognition; this was the first time she had seen either of them since becoming Eloise. She couldn't help but stare; they looked exactly the same as they had before, but they seemed to be deep in conversation. That was odd; she thought that they hated each other.

"Can I help you with something, sweetie?" said CeCe, clearly irritated that Eloise had interrupted them.

"Um... my friends said they would meet me here," she said nervously. Both CeCe and Jenna were glaring at her. "Do you know them? Hanna Marin and Emily Fields?" Eloise knew that both girls would recognize the names, and it was a big risk to say something like that in front of Jenna. But she hoped it would make her a little more familiar to CeCe and the two could bond. Maybe CeCe would even have some gossip to tell her. She seemed to know EVERYTHING!

CeCe's eyebrows raised. "_You're_ the little British girl bunking with Aria?"

Eloise blushed. "Well, that's not the word choice I would pick, but yes, I am."

CeCe look at Jenna's livid expression to Eloise's petrifying fear of the girl. _There is nothing, _CeCe thought, _I love more than friction._ "Do you girls want to get some coffee?" CeCe said offhandedly. "The Brew is just around the corner. I could treat you both to a latte and would could chat." _Friction and gossip, that is,_ CeCe thought mischievously.

"But CeCe, I thought you were going to help me with a gift for my brother," said Jenna, clearly pissed. Those words struck the same chord with Eloise that they had with Hanna.

Toby was coming back. And when he was, Eloise was going to be prepared.

Eloise noticed Jenna glaring at her and her immediate reaction was to decline, but she knew that it might be worth it to be able to talk with Jenna for a while and see what she knew about Toby. "I could go for a coffee," said Eloise. She watched Jenna turn beat red with anger.

CeCe turned towards Jenna. "Jenna, I can help you after. Come on, it'll be fun."

Jenna rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. Let's go." CeCe smiled, turned of the lights, and ushered the girls outside.

_Bring it on, _thought Eloise as the three strolled down the block. _Bring. It. On._


	22. A Coffee Date

"So, how _is_ Aria?" CeCe said as she dragged the stirring stick in little circles through her latte. They had only been sitting down at the brew for two minutes and CeCe had already jumped into a tricky question.

"She's doing alright," said Eloise, taking a sip of the scalding liquid in her cup. The Brew boasted having the hottest coffee in Pennsylvania. "She's having some testing done today."

"What kind of testing?" CeCe pressed, her eyebrows raised. She was always dying for gossip, even if it was none of her business.

"Just. . . stuff," said Eloise. She didn't feel like like spilling everything to CeCe, and ESPECIALLY not JENNA. But suddenly, she felt pressured to say more. She needed to open up if she ever wanted Jenna to spill something. "She's getting psychiatric evaluations to determine what kind of medicine to put her on."

Jenna scoffed quietly. "Will it even make a difference? I heard she's two feet away from getting thrown into Radley."

Eloise narrowed her eyes at Jenna. "No, she's not," said Eloise defensively. "She's been doing better in the last few weeks."

Jenna shrugged. "Well, it's just something I've heard. I'd hate for that to happen to the poor girl. Radley's for psychos."

Eloise glared at her. "What are you implying?"

Jenna raised her eyebrows at Eloise. "Nothing at all. Just that it would be so unfortunate for her to end up in a place like that. I mean, with everything that she's been through."

"Everything that she's been through?"

"Well, you know. Her parents getting divorced. Her boyfriend dying in that car crash. Her best friend killing herself like the sissy she was."

"EXCUSE me?" said Eloise. She gritted her teeth together, trying not to show her fury. CeCe looked pale and unsure of what to say for what Eloise was sure it was the first time.

"Well, I'm sure she didn't tell you," said Jenna. "But the girl was a nut ball. She had one bad break up and just took her life away. Good thing she's dead, though. It wouldn't do Rosewood any good to have a psycho like her running around. Makes me wonder if the same is true for Aria."

Eloise shot up like a rocket. "I need a napkin," she said through barred teeth. _Don't get angry,_ she told herself. _Eloise wouldn't get angry. Eloise would walk away._

She took a few steps away from where they were sitting until she was behind Jenna. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at the back of Jenna's head. _Actually, Eloise is living with Aria. Eloise would fight back._ She dug her high-heeled shoe against the rug on the floor so it made a scuffing sound and said, "OOPS!" loudly. Then, she poured her coffee on Jenna's head.

Jenna immediately started screaming. Steam clouded over Jenna's hair as the boiling brew dripped onto her shoulders. She turned around and began exploding at Eloise, but Eloise didn't notice because she turned away and started stalking out the door. Soon, she was on the street and started running as far away from the Brew as she could.

"Eloise!" a voice called after her. It was CeCe. Eloise kept walking and didn't look back, but CeCe was chasing her down the block. "Eloise, wait!" she yelled. _These damn heels, _Eloise thought. It was easy for CeCe to catch up to her.

"Eloise, I'm sorry about all that," said Cece once she caught up. "Jenna was being a total bitch. She has an old issue with Spencer Hastings. I didn't know she was going to say that."

Eloise glared at her. "You didn't try and stop her, though. You just let her say all that."

CeCe looked at her nervously. "I didn't know what to say. An old friend of her's was in Radley before, and she's touchy about it."

"Didn't sound like it," said Eloise, rasing an eyebrow.

"It ended badly," said CeCe. "I get why she's touchy. I've had friends in Radley, too. It's scary, and it's embarrassing."

"If you're suggesting I cut her some slack," said Eloise evenly, "Then I would tell you that you are insane."

CeCe's eyes flashed angrily. "I'm not telling you that. I'm just saying that the girl has been through some shit. Well, I have too, but you don't see me crying about it."

"Everyone's got their shit, Cece," Eloise said angrily. "But I think it's best if I keep mine away from Jenna."

"Eloise, wait-"

"Thanks for the coffee," said Eloise as she walked away angrily.

She shouldn't have left CeCe or Jenna so quickly. If she hadn't, then maybe some one wouldn't have been able to send out a mass text to her most recent contacts:

_Chatroom "The TeAm Activated" _

**HUGSNKISSES: You will NEVER believe what happened to me today.**


	23. A Visitation

"How was your day?" Spencer whispered softly. "How did the testing go?"

"Bad," Aria whispered, sniffling. "Everyone thinks I'm crazy."

"No one thinks you're crazy," Spencer responded. She wrapped her arms even more tightly around Aria's tiny body and wiped away one of her tears. The two were sitting on the edge of Aria's bed, Aria practically in Spencer's lap. Aria had woken up about 20 minutes ago, screaming and crying; she had a particularly bad dream that night. But Spencer was there in an instant. "They just love you and want to make sure you're okay."

"Dr. Thompson said he wants to see how I respond to schizophrenia medication," said Aria skeptically. "They think that I'm hearing voices and the medicine will make it stop.

"Maybe that will help," Spencer whispered. She was so furious that Hanna and Emily had told Aria's parent's about her "dreams." They freaked out when they said that Aria was hallucinating, and ordered more psychologists, brain scans, and evaluations.

Eloise knew Aria didn't have schizophrenia, but she thought that if she started taking the medication, it would be a good time to stop this craziness of visiting Aria every night as Spencer. Maybe the medication would calm down her nightmares, and maybe that would be the time Aria would be ready to sleep through the night without Spencer visiting her. But would Spencer ever be ready to stop visiting?

Aria shook her head, reading Spencer's thoughts. "But I don't want you to go away."

Spencer let go of Aria and scooted away from her so Aria wouldn't see her tears. "I don't want to go away, but. . . . it's for the best." Spencer had never outright said that she was dead, or gone. She sugar-coated everything as much as possible, never admitting the reality of the situation. It was just to painful to discuss, and Spencer felt like there wasn't anything true that she could say.

Suddenly, Spencer sneezed once, twice, three times. "You okay?" Aria said, gently rubbing Spencer's back. "Are you getting sick?"

Spencer sniffled and shook her head. "I'm fine."

Aria scooted closer to her and snuggled close to her friend. "If you say so," she whispered. There was silence for a few seconds, until Aria said, "I love you, Spencer. You're like my sister. Please don't leave me."

Aria started to cry quietly. "You can't leave me, Spencer, you can't. Please, don't leave me."

"Shhhh, it's okay," Spencer cooed. Aria hadn't woken up sobbing in ages, but this was a bad day. Aria leaned into Spencer's contact, tears streaming down her face. "Everything's okay, Aria," Spencer said softly, but Aria kept crying.

She held Aria close for a few seconds and then gently prompted her to lay down on her stomach. With her head on a pillow, Spencer rubbed Aria's back slowly for a few minutes. When Aria began to calm down, Spencer started singing softly. She sung Rainbow Connection, the old, weird song that Kermit the frog sang in the Muppets. She sang it to Aria frequently, whenever it was a particularly bad night. She didn't know why, but she loved how soothing the song was, and she knew all the words by heart. She loved the Muppets when she was little, and they made her feel safe.

By the time Spencer reached the third verse, Aria was already asleep, but Spencer kept singing, the lyrics flowing out of her like a stream. "'Have you been half asleep, and have you heard voices?"' _How ironic_, Spencer thought. _She's asleep and hearing voices, but she's never been more lost._

She kept singing until the very last line: "'Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."' She leaned down and kissed a sleeping Aria's forehead. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and went back to her bedroom to fall into a fitful sleep.

**Hey, so the next few chapters are really boring, but important to the story, so I am going to post them all at once. I don't know when I will get them up, but I PROMISE they have a point, they are not just fillers. **


	24. An Act of Kindness

The next morning, Eloise flinched when someone turned on the light in her room. "Eloise, did your alarm not go off?" Byron said as opened Eloise's door. "It's time to wake up."

Eloise didn't respond. She sniffled and drew the blanket on her bed closer around her shivering body, rolling her eyes.

"Eloise, are you feeling alright?" Byron asked, standing nervously in the doorway.

She shook her head no, not sitting up under the blanket she had swaddled herself under. Byron walked in closer and Eloise fell into another sneezing fit. He awkwardly crouched down next to her bed and studied her bright red nose, her bloodshot eyes, and her sweaty face.

"Are you sick? You might have that cold that's going around." _Really_, thought Eloise,_ I never would have guessed that_. But she couldn't be rude to the man that had opened his house to her, so she simply nodded.

"I think so," she said weakly, trying to hold her tongue. She felt like crap; her head hurt, she couldn't breathe through her nose, and her entire body felt achy and stiff. The fact that she wanted to die right then and there was only intensified by the fact that she had no one there to make her feel better.

"Is it okay if I stay home from school?" she asked, her voice sounding thick and deeper than normal.

"Of course it's okay. I'll go tell Aria to shower in my room so she doesn't bother you." He started to turn leave, but nervously turned back. "Do you, uh, want me to stay home from work?"

"No, I'll be fine," she said, and Byron left her alone to fall back asleep. She couldn't imagine anything more awkward than Byron alone with her, trying to take care of her while she was sick. It would be beyond uncomfortable, and no matter how much she was craving to be taken care of, Byron wasn't exactly who she was looking for. Maybe if Byron was 20 years younger with abs, friendly blue eyes, and hands that would make all of her troubles go away when they massaged her tense back.

_No, _she thought angrily. _I don't want him here. I'm FINE. I don't need anybody. _

Once Byron left, she snuggled down deeper into her blankets, ready to fall asleep and ignore the rest of the world for a little while. But not 20 minutes later, the light turned on again and Eloise looked up to find Aria walking in, her arms full of stuff. Eloise's eye's couldn't focus on anything to identify what she was holding.

She placed everything on the floor and sat down next to the bed. "How you feeling, sweetie?" she whispered, pushing a strand of black hair from the girl's face. Eloise didn't have time to respond before Aria grabbed an electric thermometer and placed it in Eloise's ear. The tip felt cold and foreign in her ear, and Eloise flinched away, but Aria stuck it in again and pulled Eloise closer. After a few seconds, it beeped and Aria moved it out to look at the number. "103.5," she read gently, almost apologetically, giving Eloise a quick back rub.

She grabbed a box of tissues from the floor and placed it on Eloise's night table, along with a cup of orange juice. She walked into the bathroom and returned with a wet wash cloth, which she folded in half and placed on Eloise's forehead. It fell cold against her sweaty forehead, and Eloise shuddered. "That feel good?" Aria said with a smile.

"Yeah, it does," she said softly. "Thanks." Eloise was trying not to blush. How did Aria know she wanted some one to take care of her?

"My dad is pretty useless when I'm sick," Aria confided, unfolding an extra blanket on top of Eloise. "I've learned to take care of myself, and others when need be. Also," she paused, digging in the pocket of her pajama pants, "This is the key to the medicine cabinet if you want to take something later. He doesn't let me grab medicine on my own ever since. . . . well, you know." Aria pouted slightly, as if the whole thing was just a big inconvenience.

But suddenly, a mischievous smile spread on her face. "He doesn't know that I know where he hides the key. Wait til he's gone if you want something. And you can text me if you need me; I'll keep my phone on during class. Feel better, okay?"

With that, Aria gave Eloise's hand a tight squeeze, turned around, and left the room. Eloise closed her eyes tight and shivered. Did she know who was REALLY visiting her last night? Spencer had SNEEZED, and Aria asked if she was getting sick! _Oh God, does she know?_

_She didn't let on. And she thinks that she has mental problems. She doesn't know. She CAN'T know._

Eloise didn't let herself fall asleep, listening for Byron's car to leave. As soon as she heard Byron's car pull out of the driveway, Eloise wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and sat up. Groaning as her sore body clumsily made its way through the house, she walked into Byron's bathroom, key to the medicine cabinet in her hand. She fumbled around trying to stick it in the lock, but it finally opened, bottles of medicine appearing in front of her eyes.

When the cabinet finally opened, Eloise couldn't get her eyes to focus on any of the words. She looked in the mirror; her contacts were still in. But she remembered that this sometimes happened when she had a fever: her vision got blurry and she'd loose depth perception, even her ability to read.

None of the drug names were familiar to her, and she couldn't focus very well to read what they were supposed to cure. She grabbed one with a cartoon of someone sneezing. That seemed safe enough, so she twisted the cap open and shook out a couple of pills. She couldn't tell how many; they were small and slippery. Without thinking twice, she shoved the handful into her mouth and swallowed. Somewhere she knew that it was a bad idea, but she felt too crappy to care.

Satisfied, she closed the cabinet and took the bottle of pills back to her room in case she needed more later. She collapsed into bed, placed the pill bottle on her nightstand, and lay down, falling into a deep, deep sleep.


	25. A Dream

Eloise woke suddenly from yet another nightmare, gasping and choking into her pillow. Tears streamed down her face as whispered to herself, "It was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream." She had a hard time believing it; every second had been so real, so vivid. For the last 4 or 5 hours she had been alternating between crushing nightmares and random dreams of moments in her past.

She was so, so confused. At first she dreamed of getting hit by the car in the Costco parking lot, of fighting with Mona at the cliff, and of Ian trying to kill her- horrible, traumatic moments that she did her best to forget. But then the dreams shifted to moments she could barely remember.

She awoke every few minutes, sweating, at a different recollection of her old life. They were random, sometimes lasting only a few seconds, but were clear moments that happened to her. One was of studying for a science test with Emily- "_What did you put for number 6?" "Meiosis is different from mitosis because_. . . " and then blackness. Another was her and Toby baking cookies- "_How much sugar?" "Two cup." "Three cups?" "No, Toby, just two." __"Let's add more,_" and she slipped away into the mixing bowl. A third was just her eating dinner in silence with her parents. A forth was holding Aria while she cried after Ezra died- "_Aria, are you sure you feel okay? You should probably go home and dry off-" "NO. Spencer, I can't miss Ezra_."

What the hell was happening? Was she hallucinating? Or were these just bizarre fever dreams? She had no idea as she slipped into yet another dream, this one lasting longer, but it was as vivid as the others.

* * *

_"Oh, oh yesssss, OH YES!" Hanna cheered as she plopped down on Spencer's couch next to Emily, two Saturdays before school ended during their junior year. "This is heaven, absolute heaving. Goddam whoever decided that there should be a blackout on the hottest day of the year."  
_  
_"Glad you're enjoying the air conditioning," Spencer said as she dug through her freezer. "I always thought that my parents buying a generator was useless, until today."_

"_Thanks for letting us all stay here, Spence," said Emily. Aria, who was seeted on the other side of Emily, started to echoed a thank you, but started sneezing and reached for another tissue. Emily sighed and rubbed Aria's back in slow circles._

_Aria had always had terrible spring and summer allergies, and she was barely able to breathe today. Sometimes it got so bad that her parents took her to the hospital, but it hadn't gotten to level yet today. She was close, but the air conditioning was helping._

_"Do you guys want mocha chip or cookie dough?" Spencer asked, grabbing some ice cream bowls from the cabinet._

_"BOTH," cried Hanna. "It'll probably be the last cold thing I get for a while."_

Emily asked for cookie dough, and but Aria declined, mumbling that her throat her too much for her to swallow anything.

_"Have you eaten anything today?" asked Spencer, concerned. Aria shook her head no._

Spencer checked the clock: 3:32 PM. Spencer handed Emily and Hanna bowls of ice cream and crouched down by Aria. She rubbed her knee and said gently, "You're not going to feel better until you eat something. Just get something in your system. Or at least drink something, some tea maybe."

"_Do you have any orange juice?" Aria asked, her voice heavy and raspy._

_"Sure, of course." Spencer got up and poured a tall glass of orange juice. "You want anything else?" _

_Aria cleared and throat and said, "Chocolate chips?"_

_Spencer shrugged and grabbed a bag from the pantry, taking both the cup of juice and the bag to the coffee table. Aria grabbed two chocolate chips and tossed them in her mouth, and she took a swig of orange juice. She repeated this process a few times before she noticed everyone was staring at her._

_"What. Are. You doing?" asked Hanna, her brow furrowed._

_"Oh," Aria breathed. "Well, when I was little, I hated swallowing pills when I was sick, so my mom would give me a bunch of chocolate chips and hide the pill in them. Then I'd swallow them two at a time and never notice the pill because I was so excited for the chocolate. Now, I just do that whenever I get sick. It kind of reminds me of being a kid. It makes me feel safe, you know? Safe, and loved."_

_Spencer smiled. "Aria, that's so adorable."_

_"For me, it was grape soda," Emily offered out of nowhere. She had been slow to offer __up conversation since Maya died, so her friends listened eagerly. "When I had the flu, my mom would let me sleep in her bed and drink all the grape soda I wanted. The stuff is pretty artificial, but it just makes me feel at home. And loved, just like Aria."_

"_Aladdin," Hanna blurted out. "My mom would give me a bubble bath and we'd snuggle and watch Aladdin together. When I was sick, I mean. That's what'd I'd do when I was little."_

_"That your favorite cartoon?" asked Emily._

_"Naw, my mom just thought Aladdin was hot."_

_All the girls laughed, and Hanna said, "Spence, what about you?"_

_"What about me?"_

_"What was your childhood sick-day memory?"_

_Spencer shrugged and said, "Usually when I was sick, my mom hired a nurse for the day to stay with me. She said it was probably safer for my health, and there was nothing she could do that a nurse couldn't do better."_

_The others looked away from her and blushed. They all knew Spencer had a rocky relationship with her parents, but she rarely shared any information. Was she really that neglected as a child?_

_Well, no one could call it neglect. Spencer was given every privilege and opportunity in the world. But was she really that. . . unloved? _

_Sensing her friends feeling awkward, Spencer blurted out, "Well, there was this one time."_

_She sat down and the others scooched close to hear the story. "When I was about four, maybe five, I got whopping cough."_

"_Oh_, _that's nasty, Spence," said Emily. "Were you okay?"_

_"Yeah, I was fine after a bit, but it was pretty much hell when I was sick. I coughed for literally hours on end. And this one night, I was so, so tired. I hadn't slept because I had been awake coughing, and I was just miserable. So my mom sat me on her lap while I was just coughing and crying from coughing, and she rubbed my back, and she... sang to me. Rainbow Connection, from the Muppets. You guys know that song?"_

_Everyone nodded, and Emily picked up the lyrics. '"Why are there so many songs about rainbows, and what's on the other side?"'_

_Hanna chuckled, and continued in a Kermit the frog voice. "'Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainboooooows have nothiiiiiing to hiiiiiiiiide."'_

_She couldn't remember any of the other words, so she stopped while her friends laughed. Spencer continued for her, singing softly as if she were comforting a coughing baby Spencer. '"So we've been told and some choose to believe it. I know they're wrong, wait and see."' None of them had ever heard her Spencer sing before, and it was beautiful, like her voice was covered in blankets. It wasn't the most professional singing voice in the world, but it was soft and loving, like a real mom. The girls listened in awe as Spencer finished the verse, her voice growing softer with every word: '"Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."'_

_They let the Spencer's last notes filled the room for a few slow seconds, until Spencer started her story again. "She held me close, and she sang that song to me until I fell asleep. I remember sleeping in her arms that night for the first time in a long time, and I guess the last time. Ever since then, I have just loved that song so much. It makes me feel safe and warm, like she's still holding me and telling me everything will be okay. It makes me remember that some one loves me._"

* * *

Again, Eloise woke in a cold sweat. _OH. Okay_, thought Eloise. S_o THAT'S why I sang that song to Aria_. She moaned slightly and rolled over, too tired to think about it now. She closed her eyes and braced herself for another horrific round of nightmares.


	26. A Surprise

Time passed. Eloise wasn't sure how much, but time was passing. She had dream after dream, and she awoke in a cold sweat after each one before suddenly approaching the next and falling back to sleep. It was hell, complete and utter hell. She relived her worst moments, but what brought her to tears were the happy ones with her family and friends.

When she was awake, Eloise stared up at the ceiling, hating her life, hating absolutely everything. She knew that she should feel good that Aria had been so nice to her earlier, but she was so homesick, LIFEsick. She wanted so desperately to be Spencer again, to have people love her.

She thought about the last time she had been sick like this, not counting post-surgery complications and pains, when she was still Spencer. She had woken up one morning, an unusually chilly day for mid October, with a horrible fever and a hacking cough. Her mother brought her their portable DVD player so she could watch A Cinderella Story, her classic stay-home-sick movie. She also made some tea with honey and stayed with her until she had to leave for work, rubbing Spencer's back while she coughed. She apologized profusely that she had a huge trial that day, but it was okay because Toby showed up just after her mother left.

He snuggled with her while they watched the movie and let her fall asleep on his chest. Later, he gave her a back rub and they snuggled for HOURS. That afternoon, Emily, Hanna, and Aria came by with some chicken noodle soup and the school work she had missed that day. They hung out in the afternoon, Spencer's friends joking around trying to make her feel better. That night, her dad stopped by with a new pair of earrings as a get-well-soon present, and her mother tucked her into bed.

Spencer had LOVED being sick. Well, she hated actually being physically ill. Didn't everyone? But she loved the attention she got. Her parents would be kind and caring, like real parents. All of her friends did everything the could to make her happy. And TOBY, Toby would spend hour with her. Just having him there made her fever go down. The hours that they had spent snuggling and not saying anything were the best. Yes, she hated being sick, but she always felt so LOVED.

Lying alone in Aria's house, alone and sneezing and feeling like she was on fire, Eloise had never felt lonelier.

Tears streaked down her face and she began to sob. How could this have happened? How could she have lost everything in her life that mattered? Her family? Her friends? Her boy friend? Her future? The purpose of her existence? Everything that made her happy? It had all been taken from her in the course of a few months.

No, that was a lie. If what Toby had told her was true during that discussion in the hospital all those days ago, everything had been set into motion from the first minute Ali asked Spencer if she wanted to hang out sometime back in middle school. None of this was under her control, Eloise realized as she lay in bed, her head pounding from fever. She had no control over her life anymore.

Eloise drifted slowly back to sleep, wondering somewhat what dream she would be forced to live through next. She continued crying softly to herself. She cried for the hell of everything, for Toby, for Aria, for her other friends, for her old life. Soon, she began to drift in and out of sleep.

She wasn't sure if she was awake or not, but she found herself somewhere warm, yet she felt exhausted, like she had just experienced a murderous field hockey practice. She felt her body shaking as she cried, but she didn't know if it was real or part of the dream.

There were sound, soft sounds, but Spencer wasn't sure exactly what it was. It was someone talking, she realized after a moment. Not talking, but singing.

Soon, she was able to understand the lyrics. "Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star?" _Oh God_, she thought as she realized where and when she was. She cried harder into her mother's arms, but she felt a familiar hand rubbing her back to soothe her. It was another flashback to the day she was sick, the day her mother had sang her to sleep, the day she thought of if she wasn't sure if her family loved her or not.

The lyrics were eerily familiar and made her equally sad and happy- sad because she missed her mother- no, not her mother. She missed being loved- so much, but happy that she was given this small comfort. She kept listening to her mother's voice as she cried, the song ringing throughout the room. "Somebody thought of that and someone believed it. Look what it's done so far."

Her sobs relaxed and she listened to the melody, humming along to herself. "What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing, and what do we think we might see? Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me." Her mother's voice was so soft, so loving, so familiar.

Except, it just wasn't, it simply wasn't. This voice was higher and more child-like, and much more melodic. Her mother had a deeper voice and sang with frequent pauses, but this voice was crystal clear and swirled through the notes. "All of us under its spell. We know that it's probably magic," the voice sung. Was Eloise dreaming this? Was this real?

"Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name." Eloise felt the Spencer in the dream drifting away and found herself coming closer and closer to reality, but the voice and the hand were still there, soothing her. "Is this the sweet sound that called the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same."

The voice, the voice that was in her room, a memory in the past and a moment in the present at the same time. It hurt too badly for Eloise to keep dreaming this dream, so she opened her eyes...

… and saw Aria's face mere inches from her. She watched Aria's lips move and the voice sung the lyrics, "I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be."

Eloise closed her eye. _It's a dream, it's only a dream_, she told herself. But she still listened for the last lyrics, and the voice didn't disappoint. "Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers. . ." The voice trailer off until it whispered, barely audible, "The lovers, the dreamers, and you, and me."

Eloise felt a gentle kiss on her forehead and heard soft footsteps pad across her bedroom floor until a door creaked closed. Eloise counted to 20, shaking so badly that she felt the bed beneath her moving. She sat up in bed, her eyes wide, sweat running down her forehead, and she saw nothing but an empty room.


	27. A Mystery

"Hey Eloise," Aria whispered as she peeked her head through the bathroom door. "How are you feeling? Any better?" Eloise studied Aria. She had woken up about 15 minutes ago in a daze. She had no idea if she dreamed Aria singing to her, or if it was real.

"Somewhat," Eloise replied shakily as she sat up in bed. Aria walked in, sat down on the bed, and felt Eloise's sweaty forehead.

"It feel's like your fever broke," she said as she reached for the thermometer. She stuck it in Eloise's ear gently to be sure, and when it beeped she read the number. "99.7," she said brightly. "Much better. Did you take something from the medicine cabinet?"

Eloise nodded weakly and pointed to the pill bottle on her dresser. Aria picked up the bottle and gasped. "You took these?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong?"

"Eloise, my dad gets these special for when I have allergies during the summer. They are some seriously strong drugs, maybe even illegal. They make it so you don't have allergic reactions, but they also really mess up your brain. You can't think straight. When I take them, I can barely see three feet in front of me, and I have the craziest dreams."

Eloise's blood went cold. "Crazy dreams?"

"Ohhh, yeah. If I took more than 1 a day, I couldn't sleep for more than a half an hour without waking up after some crazy flashback or nightmare." Eloise thought about the small handful of pills she swallowed earlier. Is that why she had so many crazy dreams?

Distantly, Byron called for Aria to come downstairs. Turning to Eloise, Aria said, "I should probably let you go back to sleep. Call me if you need anything, okay? I'm glad you're feeling better." She smoothed Eloise's hair and left the room.

As soon as she was gone, Eloise grabbed for the pill bottle that Aria had foolishly left sitting out. Her vision was still blurry, but it was clear enough to scan the label. A few words jumped out at her: Congestion. Extreme. Do not take more than directed. Ask a doctor. Side effects. Blurry vision. Nightmares. Do not take more than 1 a day. Call poison control.

Eloise couldn't breathe for a moment. She must have taken at least 6 of the pills. If she had, she wouldn't be able to sit up. But how could she explain the dreams? Did this mean Aria singing to her was or was not real? Why HAD she grabbed the bottle of pills in the first place?

Suddenly, she remembered. Her vision was too blurry to see anything other than a cartoon of a sneezing man. That made her assume it was some form of generic cold medicine. But as she looked at the bottle now, she saw only harsh, angry medical termonology scrawled across it. There was no cartoon of a man, sneezing or otherwise.

Eloise dropped the bottle and started shaking. She layed back down in her bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin. _Don't think about it,_ she told herself. _Go to sleep, and forget about it_. But as Eloise drifted into a dreamless sleep, she heard someone humming the melody to Rainbow Connection. The lyrics were the last words she thought of before she fell asleep. "Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."

* * *

A week and a half later, Eloise sat alone at a shady bar, alternating between nursing a cocktail and downing shots of vodka, somewhere outside of Rosewood. It was early Friday afternoon and she had fled here after school. The place was dimly lit, and it was pretty empty at 8 on a Friday. But she needed to be alone to think. She hadn't been able to do that straight for the last few days, and she thought the alcolhol would calm her nerves.

All she could think about was what had happened when she was sick. Did she dream Aria coming into her room, or did that really happen? And if she was in there, was she actually singing to Eloise? And what on Earth had Eloise taken from the medicine cabinet?

Her friends knew something was wrong with her. She hadn't said much in the last week, and she was ignoring her furiously buzzing cell phone. She really didn't feeling like talking to anyone. She had held awkward conversations with Aria, but was afraid to say much. As far as Emily and Hanna went, she hadn't spoken to them since before she was sick.

"You all right there, sweetheart?" a skeezy bartender inquired as he wiped down the counter. Eloise nodded, hiccuped, and downed another shot. Her mind was beginning to blur, but it took a lot of drinks to get her drunk. During her time on the run, Elijah didn't really have access to any sort of pain medication for her, so he would have her take a drink to help numb the pain. Some part of her brain told her that it was a terrible idea, but the pain was so overwhelming that it didn't matter. Now, her body was so used to the booze that it didn't faze her at all.

Suddenly, her cell phone buzzed again. She knew that she had to answer it eventually. She squinted at the caller ID and saw it was Hanna calling her. She was probably wondering why she bailed on their coffee date. Eloise needed time alone to forget, but she couldn't very well explain that to Hanna. Sighing, Eloise answered the phone.

"Hanna, I-

"Eloise, it doesn't matter. Have you seen Aria?"

"No, I told you, I needed to be alone. Why?"

"She disappeared after school today. Nobody has seen her since school let out, and she hasn't answered her phone."

School let out five hours ago. Eloise sucked in her breathe nevously. "She probably just went home and turned off her phone, Hanna. Don't worry."

"No, Ella was supposed to drive her home today, but Aria didn't show up. She's not at home, or school, or Holden's. Everyone is going crazy looking for her."

"Oh. . . oh God, Hanna," Eloise whispered.

"Eloise, just. . . just tell me if you find out anything, okay?" Hanna said with frustration. She knew that Eloise had become a basket case lately, and she wasn't quite ready to trust in her right now. Hanna never DID trust Eloise, but her behavior as of late did not help.

Eloise agreed, and quickly hung up the phone. She grabbed her drink, chugged it down, and rested her head on the bar counter. She breathed fast and heavy, trying to tell herself there was no connection between her and what was happening, but she didn't believe it. But before she could even think, her phone buzzed again. It was a text message, and Eloise read the caller ID again. When she saw it read as Unknown Caller, she slapped a fifty dollar bill on the counter and walked briskly to the bathroom.

It was a small room with one stall, and Eloise was completely alone. She locked the door as she read the message, once, twice, a third time. Her legs gave out and she sank to the floor, her phone scattering across the floor. She found herself unable to breathe, and she put her hands out in front of her to cushion her fall. Kneeling on all fours, gasping for air, her eyes locked on the screen of the cell phone. Even though it had slid to the wall, Spencer was able to read the text on the screen:

**Dear Miss Eloise Elizabeth Williams, aka Miss Spencer Jill Hastings,**

**You think you're so clever, dressing up and hiding from me? Well, you may have hid in big old NYC, but Rosewood is too tiny to keep a secret. I know everything about you. How you ran, how you hid, and how you would do anything to keep your friends safe. Go to room 217 at the motel down the road. Go now, or Aria pays the price. Hugs and kisses, bitch! -A**


	28. A Rendezvous & A Conversation, part 4

Eloise walked in brisk, shaking steps through the parking lot of the motel. The sun was setting and it was dim in the lot, but the shiny blade of the knife she was holding glistened in the few rays of light dashing through the clouds. She knew it was weak; a teenaged girl with a knife, having no idea what she was walking into. But this was the only thing in the bar the qualified as a real weapon, and there was no way in hell she was walking in undefended.

It was ending now, tonight. She couldn't believe it would finally be over. She had no idea who this was, what she was going to walk into, so she ran over the things she knew for sure. Well, she ran over everything Toby told her. She didn't know if she actually knew it was true, but for the time being, she was choosing to believe it. It offered the only clue she had to this moment.

Words could not describe the hell she felt reaching for the door nob. A had sent a follow up message shortly after saying that the door would be unlocked and to make sure she was not followed. The blinds were closed, but she could tell that the lights were off in the room because no light came from under the door.

She planted her feet firmly on the ground to stop the shaking as she opened the door in one quick jerk. She saw a silluette in the back of the room, but she had no idea who it was. She stepped in and all the fear drained from her. It was quickly replaced by anger. Here was her tourmenter, mere feet away from her, and she had no idea who it was. This person had ruined life, and here she was, about to end it all. She took a step forward and growled the thing that had driven her insane for years: "Who are you?"

It was silently for a tense moment before a voice whispered, "I knew you'd come. So, you got my message?" Suddenly, the the light flickered on, and the figure appeared in front of her. Eloise fell to her knees for the second time that day, and the girl in the chair ran towards her. The knife slipped from Eloise's hand as she shook with sobs that she had been holding in for months.

At any other moment, she would have worried where to knife went, worried that someone would pop out and come after her. But Aria wrapped her tiny, thin arms around Spencer's body and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry I scared you like that, but I needed to get you here." Tear flowed down her cheeks as she held Spencer up, the first time she had really seen her friend in months. "I knew it was you, Spencer, I knew it," Aria whispered. "I knew you would never leave me."

Spencer kept crying, and Aria started to cry, too. The two stayed there, shaking and crying, until all of the barriers between them melted away.

* * *

_Chatroom "The TeAm" Activated_  
_Room Activated by HugsKisses_  
_SexyBeast123 has entered the chatroom_  
_PrettyMonaV has entered the chatroom_  
_The_Dude has entered the chatroom_

SEXYBEAST123: damn, how long has it been since this chatroom was activated?  
PRETTYMONAV: too long. i might had died waiting  
HUGSNKISSES: eff off, mona. u don't have to be here. we have big things planned  
PRETTYMONAV: damn right i don't. but i am. i ruined my life for this team, so u better all include me  
HUGSNKISSES: excuse me?  
THE_DUDE: ANYWAYS, y did u call us here?  
HUGSNKISSES: no, i want to hear what mona has to say. we didn't RUIN YOUR LIFE  
PRETTYMONAV: um, u kind of did. im in a fucking MENTAL HOSPITAL. if it weren't for me stepping in when the girls found the lair, you all would have been exposed.  
SEXYBEAST123: guys, let's not fight about this. y did u call us all here?  
HUGSNKISSES: well, i guess it doesn't matter if mona doesn't want to be part of this. because a lot of it revolves around her  
PRETTYMONAV: STOP trying to manipulate me. if u want me here, than make it worth it  
HUGSNKISSES: what, you don't want to hear what i have to say?  
PRETTYMONAV: no. come talk to me when u actually have something worth saying  
THE_DUDE: baby, wait!

_PrettyMonaV has left the chatroom_

HUGSNKISSES: well, that blows  
SEXYBEAST123: what's here problem? she was totally out of line  
HUGSNKISSES: ask the bf. what IS her problem?  
THE_DUDE: She told me not to tell you guys  
HUGSNKISSES: just tell us. u can't say something like that  
THE_DUDE: if u tell her i told u she will dump me  
SEXYBEAST123: well, than we won't tell her, dumbass. we'd h8 to ruin ur relationship w/ maniac mona  
THE_DUDE: fuck u. i'm out of here.

_The_Dude has left the chatroom_

HUGSNKISSES: dumbass  
SEXYBEAST123: im sorry.  
HUGSNKISSES: do u realize what a fucking idiot u r?  
SEXYBEAST123: i'm sorry! i'm sorry! i'll find out what's wrong with mona, i promise  
HUGSNKISSES: u don't have 2. i already know  
SEXYBEAST123: u do? y didn't u say something?  
HUGSNKISSES: because i wanted her to b the 1 to say it  
SEXYBEAST123: well, let's hear it, cuz apparently im the only 1 who doesn't know  
HUGSNKISSES: the psychiatric board at radley has decided that to put her on a an extended stay. they aren't giving her another evaluation until she's 21, so she's stuck at radley til then  
SEXYBEAST123: oh god, poor mona. that sucks ass.  
HUGSNKISSES: yes, yes, poor sad mona. feel bad for her.  
SEXYBEAST123: um, i kind of do. her life is ruined.  
HUGSNKISSES: did u forget about patient 49721? im sure THAT patient had a life too but was in radley for just as longer than she deserved  
SEXYBEAST123: i'm sorry, but mona is perfectly sane. she's only in radley because u told her to unmask herself to spencer  
HUGSNKISSES: Excuse me, but r u implying that 49721 isn't sane? is that it?  
SEXYBEAST123: NO, that is NOT what i'm saying  
HUGSNKISSES: rly, cause that's what it sounds like u r saying. and that can't b what ur saying, cuz patient 49721 is perfectly sane. u know that. u know that 49721 was imprisoned unfairly.  
SEXYBEAST123: i know. i know. im sorry.  
HUGSNKISSES: that is the whole reason i'm here, u know. because 49721 was punished unfairly. and u know y? JUST BECAUSE SHE KNEW ALISON DILAURENTIS  
SEXYBEAST123: it's okay, it's okay. don't get angry  
HUGSNKISSES: that was punishment enough, wasn't it? being tangled up in her mess. 49721 was just drawn some unlucky cards, cards that she didn't deserve. and goddammit, she will b avenged. i will avenge her, i swear to God i will  
SEXYBEAST123: u will. u will. i promise. don't worry. i will do whatever i can to help u  
HUGSNKISSES: u will?  
SEXYBEAST123: because. . . i love u  
HUGSNKISSES: u do?  
SEXYBEAST123: yeah. i mean, we've been seeing each other for a long time and no1 knows about it. i just wanted u 2 know that. i love u  
HUGSNKISSES: what about. . . . HER. u r dating some1 else. for god's sake, we just fooled around a little  
SEXYBEAST123: ik, and i care about her. . . but i love u. she has been letting me down lately, u know? u see it. and with the Plan, it wouldn't work out between us anyways. i love u.  
HUGSNKISSES: wow, okay.  
SEXYBEAST123: do u feel the same?  
SEXYBEAST123: well, do u?  
HUGSNKISSSES: shit i gtg im sorry. bye  
SEXYBEAST123: wait!  
SEXYBEAST123: don't go.  
SEXYBEAST123: please stay

_Chatroom "_The TeAm" _unac__tivated _


	29. A Rekindling, part 1

The room was silent for a long time. Spencer and Aria lay on the queen-sized bed together. They were hugging, their arms wrapped around each other, and it was the closest Spencer had been to another human being for a long, long time.

With the exception of Wren awkwardly hugging her while she cried which had not been so comforting, and the dark nights with Aria where she was pretending that she was just a hallucination or ghost, she hadn't had a hug in ages. They hadn't said anything yet, just stared at each other, with wide, smiley, teary eyes.

Their expressions both said the same thing: I can't believe that everything turned out this way, but I am so glad we have this moment, right now, where everything is falling into place.

"How did you know?" Spencer whispered finally.

Aria beamed at her, wiping tears away from her eyes. "When I woke up in the hospital, I saw your face, and you were so . . . lost looking. A stranger wouldn't have looked like that if they saw me in the hospital. I honestly wasn't sure until you woke up when I was singing. The look in your eyes was. . . . I just knew. You were scared to death that I had figured it out, and I did."

"So I wasn't dreaming that? But. . . what about all the other dreams? I must have taken half a dozen of those pills."

Aria smiled mischieviously. "You probably grabbed one or two. I hid a couple of the serious pills in a bottle of antihistamines because my dad doesn't like me to use them all the time. I switched the bottles for when you woke up so you wouldn't figure it out."

Spencer laughed mournfully. "That was clever, I have to admit. You've changed a lot since I. . ."

"Since you left?"

A fat tear rolled down Spencer's cheek. "Yeah, since I left."

Time had passed, a lot of time of just hugging and crying before Aria said what she needed to say. "I thought it was my fault."

"What was?"

"You know," Aria whispered. "You. . . . leaving. I blamed myself. But it's not my fault, is it?"

Spencer shook her head. "It was the furthest thing from your fault. When you came to my room that day, there was. . . . something else going on. And, I needed to go away to . . . resolve it."

Aria's eyes grew wide. "Is it about the baby?"

"No," Spencer murmured. "I lost it. After I got out of the hospital."

"After you. . . ?"

"Yeah. . . after I. . . that."

Aria nodded slowly, not wanting to say the truth: Spencer had tried to kill herself and faked her own death. Aria asked the question that had been bugging her since she had realized the truth:

"Spence, why did you do it?"

Spencer breathed deeply and whispered, "Do we have to talk about it?"

"Yeah, Spence, we do."

"But why? Can't we just be happy that I'm here?"

Aria shook her head and gently moved a few locks of black hair from Spencer's face. "Everything is different now. You changed everything, and I need to know why you did that."

Spencer pulled away and tucked her arms to her chest. "Please Aria, you don't need to know."

"Yes I do!" she said angrily. She watched Spencer inch back, and her voice softened.

"Spencer, please, tell me," Aria said, sad but fierce. "Whatever this is, you ruined your life for it. There has got to be a good reason. And I know there is a reason, a bad reason. But I have to know what it is, or I don't think I could let you back in my house."

Spencer rolled over so that she wasn't facing Aria, but Aria could see her shaking silently. Aria placed a hand on Spencer's back gently and waited until Spencer was ready to talk.

When Spencer realized Aria wouldn't leave the motel without an explanation, she cleared her throat. "Toby is A."

"Spence, I know. Is that why?"

"No, Aria. You know that, but you don't know what you don't know."

Aria breathed in, ready to hear something Earth-shattering. "What don't I know?"

Spencer sat up at the foot of the bed, shaking. Aria scooted over and put one arm around Spencer's shoulder. Spencer coughed, and began to explain. "Toby visited me in the hospital, right as I woke up. I found out that he was A, and I freaked. But, he told me that everything he did was because he . . . . loved me."

Aria stopped breathing for a moment. She knew she had to say the truth, but it wasn't easy. "Spencer, he doesn't love you. He can't."

"Aria, let me finish. You don't know the rest. He told me that A wasn't just one person. A is. . . a team. It's a whole operation. He told me that he joined because he hated us, but then he fell in love. . . with me. He said that he stayed because it was better that HE was controlling the torture, and not the leader."

"The leader?"

"He wouldn't tell me who it was. He said that it was more dangerous for me if I knew."

Aria looked down. "And. . . . you believe him?"

"I do. He said that the person had a motive. That they had something big planned for us, but they needed a right moment. And Aria?"

"Yeah?"

"It get's worse. There are a lot of people on the team, people he said that we know. Including. . . "

"Who?" Aria's eyes were wide, waiting to hear the worst.

"I shouldn't tell you."

"Spencer, tell me!" Aria screamed. "I have to know! Did he tell you everyone but the leader?"

Spencer shook her head. "No, just one other person."

"Well, dammit, Spencer, who is it?"

A tear rolled down Spencer's cheek, "I can't tell you." But what she meant to say was, _I can't break your heart."_

"Spencer, please, who was it? Who was on the team?"

Spencer cleared her throat, looked Aria in the eye, and said it: "Ezra. It's Ezra. Ezra was on the A Team."

**I am, unfortunately, going back to school after my winter break, so updates are going to slow down a bit. Sorry! I will try my very hardest to get one chapter posted a day, maybe every two days if things are rough. I have prewritten a few a chapters so I can keep posting all week, and there will definitely be at least one update tomorrow. But more chapters are coming, I PROMISE! I will prewrite over weekends if it comes to that. **


	30. A Rekindling, part 2

**Ahhh I felt bad ending on a sour note like that, so here is the next chapter. I PROMISE you will like me a lot better once you read this next section. Sorry for being such a bitch with that last one. I hated doing that, BUT YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH THIS CHAPTER I PROMISE.**

"Spencer, are you CRAZY?" Aria shrieked.

"No, Aria, just listen to me-"

"NO!" Aria exploded, jumping up from the bed. "Just because your boyfriend was some kind of deranged psycho doesn't mean that mine was. He- he LOVED me!"

"Aria-"

"No, I'm not wrong. He loved me. He did. Besides, Ezra is DEAD. He died in an accident. It was a mistake, and A doesn't make that kind of mistake."

Spencer looked up at her friend with mournful eyes. "Aria, it wasn't a mistake. Ezra DID love you. He loved you SO much. You have no idea."

"THEN WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?"

Spencer swallowed and said, "He was on the team. He had a legit reason to join, but he loved you too much to stay a part of it. He acted out against the team, trying tosabotage everything they were doing. He started to HATE them.

Aria gasped at her. "What are you saying?"

"Aria, I'm saying that Ezra was a double agent. He didn't start out that way, but he decided that he couldn't let them hurt you any more, so he did everything he could to take them down."

"Wow," Aria breathed. "Are you serious?"

Spencer nodded. "He loved you, Aria. He loved you so much that he was willing to do ANYTHING for you. But the team found out what he was doing, so they. . . . killed him."

"But..." Aria stuttered, "Would he join in the first place?" Aria looked like she was going to vomit, but she needed to know the truth.

"Aria, he DID love you. When you guys met, he wasn't on the team, but when you told him about The Jenna Thing, it tore him apart."

Aria's mouth gaped open. "He told me he was cool with it! Why would he lie? And what the hell does The Jenna Thing have to do anything? Why would that change his mind."

"Toby said he didn't exactly know why Ezra joined; the leader didn't tell him. But he knew it was because of Jenna for some reason. Because we blinded her. He had some connection to her, but Toby didn't know what."

"Then how are we supposed to believe him?" said Aria skeptically.

"Because _I _know. Here's the crazy part- Jenna is his sister."

Aria collapsed on the bed, the words hitting her like a bullet. "What?" she whispered.

"I don't even know if _she_ knows. But she was adopted, and Wesley. . . . is a twin. I don't know why his parent's gave up Jenna and not Wesley, but they did."

"And how did you find out?"

"They were sending letters back and forth. Ezra found out her had a sister in Rosewood when he was digging through his parent's files, so he moved here and they sent letters anonymously. He wanted out of his hometown after the whole Maggie issue, so coming to Rosewood was doubly good. At one point, she revealed her identity to him, but I don't know if he did. When he found out we were responsible for hurting his sister, he just lost it."

Suddenly, Spencer's gut dropped down into stomach. She realized maybe Wesley was the brother Jenna was talking about getting a gift for. Maybe Toby was never going to come back.

Maybe she really would never see him again.

"Aria," Spencer began, "He started to work with the team because they lied to him, saying that they wouldn't actually do anything to you. They just wanted to get enough evidence to reveal what ALI did to Jenna. They told him that none of us would ever be hurt. He fed them information, but he never actually DID anything, to ANY of us. As soon as he figured out what was going on, he wanted out."

Aria looked at Spencer, tears flowing down her face. "Really?"

"Really, Aria. He loved you and didn't know what he was getting himself into."

Aria opened her eyes wide. "How did you find all of this out?"

"That's what I've been doing in New York. Researching whatever I can to make everything make sense."

Aria choked on her breath. "So, you have been _researching_ in New York? For months? That's why you left?"

Spencer sniffled defensivly. "I thought I'd be back in two weeks, three tops. But I was too sick. It was two weeks before I was even strong enough to sit up, much less go hunting down A. And then Wren and I settled into our routine-"

"WREN?"

"He's Elijah."

Aria closed her eyes. "No wonder I haven't met Elijah yet. Why is he helping you?"

"I told him that he owed me. If it wasn't for him, then a lot of what happened to me last fall would never have existed. He has tons of connections in New York through med school friends, and his college roommate is related to half of everyone in the legal system in Pennsylvania; I thought finding everything out would be easy. But whenever we hit a dead end. . . it was discouraging. Eventually, we just kind of gave up."

Aria stared at her blankly. She knew that it wasn't in her best interests to get frustrated with Spencer, but she needed to find out more. "What else did he tell you in the hospital?" Spencer turned as pale as the sheets they were sitting on. She pursed her lips together tightly and considered her words:

"Everything is my fault."


	31. A Rekindling, part 3

"What do you mean?" Aria whispered, not believing.

"Aria, the thing is, Alison and Toby DID actually date. In middle school and Freshmen year, she was totally in love. It was completely in secret; no one knew about it at all. Her parents didn't like the idea of her dating so young, so she decided that she'd get a group of friends together to fool her parents into thinking that she wasn't spending time with him. She picked each one of us by hand, for special reasons."

"Special reasons?" Aria's eyes were wide. She couldn't believe anything she was hearing. If Toby and Alison were in love, why would she bash him so much?

"He said that he wanted her to include Emily because they were friends when they were little kids and Emily didn't have a lot of girl friends. I don't know why she picked you or Hanna, but she wanted me in the group because she. . . . hated me."

"Spencer, that's not true."

"It is. She knew about how my dad was Jason's dad by then, and Toby said that she felt like I was doing her job, being Jason's little sister, being the perfect little Rosewood girl. She was jealous of my grades, my spot on field hockey team, my seemingly perfect family. Alison was jealous of me."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Spencer, Alison was never jealous of _anyone_. She was perfect. She had freaking everything."

"Except sanity."

Aria frowned. "Well, there's that. But she told all this to Toby?"

"Yeah. She was totally in love with him, but he didn't love her back. When Jenna moved to Rosewood in 9th grade, he was miserable with her, but Ali didn't know why. At the start of that summer, Toby dumped Alison, and she thought that it was because of Jenna. The night of the Jenna thing, she knew that Jenna was in the shed, but she didn't realize that Toby was in there with her. . . . ."

"Sleeping with her?"

"IT WASN'T HIS CHOICE, ALRIGHT?" Spencer exploded. Aria stepped back and held up her hands. "Aria, you don't fucking understand what kind of shit was happening to him. Jenna was FORCING him to sleep with her. Can you imagine what kind of living hell that would be?"

"Spencer, I- I'm sorry. So. . . Alison was trying to get him sent away? So he wouldn't have to deal with her anymore?"

Spencer shook her head sadly. "No, she just wanted to screw with Jenna. But when she saw the two of them together, she was furious. She turned on him and said that he had to take the blame for everything, or she would tell everyone that he was sleeping with Jenna. She didn't believe him when he said it wasn't his choice. She wanted revenge because Toby broke her heart."

Aria covered her mouth with her hand. None of this could be real. "So A is punishing US for what ALI did?"

"No, A is punishing us for what _I _did."

"What? I don't understand. For keeping the secret about him when you overheard them talking that night?"

Spencer turned pale. "I knew they were sleeping together long before that. One time Freshmen year, Jenna was sick and I was supposed to bring her homework to her house. There was no one home, so I went in, planning to leave it there. But it turned out that there WERE people home. I walked in on them . . . . doing it, Jenna FORCING him to do it. He was crying and he. . . . clearly didn't look like he was enjoying it. Jenna looked me straight in the eye. She didn't say anything, but I know she hated me and wanted me to leave. I didn't think that Toby saw me, but in the hospital he told me that he did. I ran out as fast as I could, and I never thought about looking back, saying anything to anyone. I was too afraid."

By this time, tears were running down Spencer's cheeks. "He said that was why he joined the team. He hated me for not speaking up, and he hated everyone else for letting him get sent away. But mostly just me. He mostly just hated me."

Aria ran over to her and wrapped her arms around Spencer, whispering to her softly. Spencer started to wail. "He said that he began to fall in love with me and forgive me, and that he wanted to quit the team later but couldn't." Soon, she was full on sobbing. "It's my fault," she moaned. "It's all my fault. It's my fault that he was sent away, that he hated us. It's my fucking fault that A is after us."

"Spencer, it's not ALL your fault," Aria said. "Mona wasn't A because of you, and neither was Ezra, and I'm guessing none of the other members were, whoever they are."

Suddenly, Aria smiled and said, "Spencer, A isn't after us anymore though. None of us have heard anything from A since your car accident. Toby has been missing for months. I'm pretty sure this whole nightmare is over."

Spencer looked into Aria's eyes. "It's not. Toby told me that he had to run away so that the leader couldn't find him. He said not to go looking for him, but I've been doing that too, in New York I mean. He's running because he knows that the whole plan falls apart if some one stops the leader."

"The plan?"

Spencer nodded. "Something big is going to happen. He didn't tell me what, but there is only one person who can stop it. It said he was going to find that person, tell them what's going on, and try to get them to intervene."

"Spencer," Aria whispered. "This is all so vague. How can you be sure that all of this is true?"

Spencer looked at Aria sternly. "He said that he loves me, and that Ezra loved you." Spencer paused, choking back tears. "Those two things are the only things I know for sure. I know you believe them too."

Aria nodded, breathed deeply. "So, what happens now?"

Another tear rolled down Spencer's cheek. "Aria, I have no idea. I have gotten myself so, so deep into this mess, and I have no idea what to do. I'm not sure if I should keep researching, or go after Toby, or tell anyone who I am. The only thing that makes sense is to keep digging into the past to see if I can find out who this damn leader is. Toby said whoever it is has something against all of us, not just me. He said all roads lead back to Alison and her death, and that the answers are there. I have to figure it out somehow. But I just can't."

Aria grabbed Spencer's hand, her chest tight. She clenched her teeth together, released them, and looked at Spencer's eyes. They were green because of the contacts, but they still spoke the same sorrow and loss that Spencer's eyes did.

"Listen to me, Spence. You are not alone. I am going to help you figure this out. Together, we are going to figure out who A is."

**Damn, these last three chapters were a lot to capture, but I hope it was worth it! This marks another big turning point of the story. Aria and Spencer/Eloise are united and the information that Toby gave Spencer is revealed. Things are about to REALLY heat up when the first step of the A Team's "Plan" is put into action in the next big chunk. Also, Spencer/Eloise has one person back in her life, but she certainly has been missing another. Maybe one with some really fine abs. SPOILER ALERT: Toby will be making an appearance VERY soon...**

**In addition, a big secret about the DiLaurentis family is about to drop that changes the story entirely. Also, Elijah/Wren is getting very close to finding out who HugsnKisses is. What will happen when he does? Keep reading!**

**Please remember to review! It really makes me so happy to see what you write. Thank you for taking the time to read this. It makes me so happy!**

**-The girl with a keyboard **


	32. A Step Forward

"Girls, the pizza is here," Elijah announced as he strolled into _his _NYC apartment. Eloise and Aria were sprawled across _his_ couch, in _his_ apartment, drinking _his_ sodas, watching American Idol on _his_ crummy TV.

The two stood up and walked towards the kitchen, picking up paper plates and napkins. "Thanks for picking up dinner, Wren," said Aria with a smile. "I'm starving."

There was an awkward pause for a moment until Eloise whispered, "Elijah."

"Oops. Yeah. Sorry. . thanks for getting the pizza, Elijah."

Elijah shook his head side to side. "Aria, you really must be more careful. Someone could overhear you, and where would we be then?"

Aria blushed and looked away. She knew that Wren was PISSED that she was staying in New York with them overnight. It had been such a miracle that her dad had even let her leave the house.

After she went missing for the better part of a Friday and the first few hours of Saturday, Byron had kept closer tabs on her. She hadn't admitted where she was, just that she was wandering around to give herself time to think. No one knew she was with Spencer (well, Eloise), or that the two had made plans to spend the following weekend breaking into the records in New York Center of Population Control, something she hadn't even knew existed until after some very extensive researching and wandering the streets of NYC earlier that morning.

As Aria grabbed a slice of veggie pizza from the giant cardboard box, she snuck a glance at Spencer. Aria had finally convinced her to stop wearing concealer when they were together, and Spencer's birthmark was prominent on her pink cheeks. Spencer had taken her contacts out about an hour ago because they were irritating her eyes, and warm brown eyes the color of caramel were glancing around the room. She laughed without that stupid British accent clouding her pretty voice. If Aria lost her mind for just a fraction of a second, she could forget everything that happened in the last few months and pretend that her old friend was back.

But those seconds passed quickly as Aria finally remembered what was happening in real life. She knew that she had to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on, but right now she was just so excited that something was finally going _right_ in her life. She still found herself gazing over at Spencer, unable to believe what was happening. Spencer was back, she wasn't crazy, her best friend was still alive, but no one believed her and she couldn't tell a soul.

A pillow smacking her in the face brought Aria back into reality. Spencer laughed as Aria threw it back at her, but missed and flew halfway across the room. The two started into a full fledged pillow fight while Wren yelled at them, but they didn't bother listening to him. _Who cares_, thought Aria, _what happens as long as I have my friends, my boyfriend, and my family behind me? All I need are the people that I love. Nothing else matters anymore._

That was what Aria was thinking as her phone rang. She grabbed for it and read the caller ID: Emily. She tossed her pillow over to Spencer and pressed talk. "Hey Em, what's-"

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Em?"

"Aria, WHERE are you?"

"I'm in New York, with Eloise! I told you I'd be here all weekend! What's wrong?" She could see Spencer and Wren looking at her, eyes, wide as they heard the screaming from the other end of the phone. Whatever was happening, it didn't sound good.

"Listen to me, Aria. You need to get back to Rosewood, right now."

"What? Em, what's going on?" Aria asked nervously.

"It's not fair to tell you over the phone, but you NEED to get back here- without Eloise."

Hearing that, Spencer raised an eyebrow. Aria noticed her startled expression and said, "Emily, tell me what is going on right now! Why can't Eloise go with me?"

"Aria, please, just get on a train as fast as you can and-"

"EMILY, just tell me what's going on!"

There was a beat of silence. Spencer and Wren were both gaping at Aria like fish out of water. In the background, Aria could hear Hanna yelling for Emily to hurry up. Finally, Emily inhaled sharply and said, "The DiLaurentis family is back in town. And they just announced something. . . big."

"Emily, what kind of big?"

"They have another daughter. Some one who they put up for adoption when she was a baby. And she's back."

Aria swallowed and said, "Eloise and I will be on the next train down there,"

"No, not Eloise, just you-" But Aria didn't hear the rest because hung up the phone as she and Spencer grabbed their suitcases and flew out the door.

Elijah was yelling their names, but they didn't respond. He chased them into the hallway, yelling, "GIRLS! WAIT!" but they ignored him, dashing to the elevator and stepping side. The door closed before Elijah could reach them.

"DAMMIT!" he screamed, pounding on the closed elevator door. He stalked back to his appartment angrily and grabbed his cell, punching out a text to Eloise:

**tell me what happens when u get there. stay safe. -eli**

Elijah groaned, flopped down on his coach, and grabbed his laptop. He flipped it open to the page he had been on: Radley Sanitorium Patient Case Files. He had finally found the patient he was looking for, number 49721. It had taken a long time to hack all the files, but he finally found her.

It was girl named Candace Mallard from a suburb outside of Philly. Elijah had reviewed the case files: Candace was placed in Radley when she began to exhibit violent and psychotic behaviors and her parents became concerned.

Elijah wasn't sure what this all meant. He checked the time stamp on the video HugsnKisses sent him, and he figured out he must have been the one authorizing her stay at Radley. The video was recorded just as the girl checked in, so did HugsnKisses want Wren to pay for imprisoning her?

She was released on probation with the condition of constant check ups with therapists and heavy medication, but she was free.

For a while, Elijah thought that the mystery was solved. HugsnKisses had to be this girl. But according to the files, she and her entire family died in a car crash shortly after she released. And that was that.

He had no idea what to do at this point. Who could possibly want to "avenge" her?

Suddenly, another IM popped up. Elijah groaned and opened it:

**Keep digging a hole, and it might eventually cave in around you. Watch out, British Boy. -HugsnKisses**

Elijah sighed, shut down his laptop, and began to cry himself to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, so the next chapter is pretty tricky to write so I don't know how long it will be before it goes up. I'm trying not to give away to much as a giant story line comes into play. The story is going to get vague and creepy, but I promise in a few more chapters it will get back on track. PLEASE keep reading and reviewing to let me know if the whole thing is making sense! **


	33. A Ghost

"You ready?" asked Eloise as she finished smearing concealer on her cheek. Aria nodded, wide eyed as she stared at the thick cloud of reports in front of her. "You can do it, Aria. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"They don't know you're coming, though," said Aria nervously. "What if the DiLaurentises make you leave?"

"Well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it," said Eloise. "Let's get moving."

Aria's knees were weak as she and Eloise tore their way through the press conference in the front yard of the Dilaurentis's house. Eloise was yanking on her wrist as she guided Aria between bloodthirsty reporters. The reporters were screaming and carried microphones, clipboards, and cameras, hungry for the story that was developing inside the house. Eloise's eyes were locked on Emily's face in the window. She told Aria on th phone earlier that she would open the door for her, but that she had to slip in quickly so the reporters couldn't get inside. Eloise counted the number of steps to get to the front door, thirty, twenty, fifteen, but reporters kept grabbing at Aria and asking her opinion of what had been announced, if she had any comments. Eloise just kept plowing through, knocking over reporters left and right. Finally, she reached the front stoop and the door slid open just a crack. Eloise shoved Aria in the door and followed quickly after. The three of them pushed at the door and locked it tight, keeping out the reporters.

They dashed to the family room, and Emily pulled a hyper-ventalating Aria close to her. She knew that Aria had never done well with crowds, but it was clear that Aria's heavy breathing was due to the DiLaurentis's announcement. "Don't look at them," she whispered as Aria gasped. "Just keep breathing. Keep breathing." Aria nodded forcefully as she shook again Emily's chest. Deep down, she wanted to be crying into Eloise's arms, but she knew somewhere deep down that she couldn't do that.

Emily glared at Eloise over Aria's head, but Eloise pretended not to notice.

After a few moments, Aria pulled away and looked Emily straight in the eye. "Is it true? Please, please tell me it's not true."

"Aria, I'm so, so sorry. If you can't handle this right now, everyone will understand. I can take you home and-"

"NO!" Aria cried. "Emily, I- I'm strong enough. I can talk to her. It's okay." Emily nodded and squeezed Aria's hand. Aria pulled her hand back and whispered, "So, tell me what I need to know. What exactly did the DiLaurentises say?"

Emily took a deep breath and spilled the story. "They said that she has just found her birth certificate and it says the DiLaurentises are her parents."

"And she was adopted?"

Emily nodded. "When she was a baby. They said that she is a year younger than Jason, and it was too much to have two kids so young. So, they just got RID of her. She spent her whole life not knowing, but she just found out. And know she is trying to sue them for money, money that she thinks she deserves."

Aria raised her eyebrows. "She can do that?"

Hanna nodded as she strolled in from the another room. "Yes, she can. Apparently she needed a lot of medication when she was younger, and it put her parents in debt. She wants them to get compensated for taking care of her."

"Medication?" asked Aria. "Medication for what?

Hanna rolled her eyes. "She apparently had MENTAL disorders. She was put on medication after, and I quote, 'exhibiting violent and psychotic behaviors.'

"And what does this have to do with us?" asked Aria.

Hanna groaned and said, "She's claiming the DiLaurentises are neglectful of her AND Ali, and that's why Alison was killed. She wants to talk with each of us to help build her case."

"WHAT?" cried Aria. "That's totally ridiculous."

Hanna nodded. "No way on EARTH I am going to help that psychopath. She is just out for money like the selfish bitch that she is."

Eloise cleared her throat and said, "But Hanna, you might be wrong. You don't even know her. Maybe she's just hurting and wants some kind of compensation. You should be her friend, not alienate her."

Emily and Aria both gaped at Eloise for different reasons. There was murder in Hanna's eyes as she walked towards Eloise. "Listen to me, you British brown-nosing bitch, you have _no_ idea what happened in our lives before you swooped down on your magic flying carpet to bring us joy and goodwill to help us get over our pathetic lives. You have NO fucking idea what kind of hell I've been through, what _all_ of us have been through, and you don't have the right to come in here and just JUDGE us for-"

"HANNA!" yelled Aria. She defensively stepped in front of Eloise, her teeth clenched.

"Hanna, shut up," barked Aria. "You can't get mad at Eloise because of this. It's not her fault. NOTHING is her fault, you understand. She didn't do anything wrong."

Emily and Hanna both gaped at Aria. She hadn't been so assertive in a long time. Eloise blushed with embarrassment until the door to the next room squeaked open.

"Hello, girls," a voice interrupted as Mrs. DiLaurentis approached the girls. "So, I guess you've all heard, right?" This girls all nodded nervously.

Mrs. DiLaurentis cleared her throat and said, "Aria, Emily, Hanna, I know this might be kind of awkward for you three, but my. . . daughter would like to have dinner with each of you separately to discuss this, talk about the law suit she's filing. I know this must be awkward for all of you, but she feels that it would help her built a case." It was if she didn't even know that Eloise was there.

Emily looked quizzically at her and said, "And you're okay with that?"

Mrs. DiLaurentis nodded and said, "I feel that by talking to you all, she might gain a sense of the REALITY of the situation at hand. I believe that these accusations are just because of her mental issues, and you girls can help her realize that."

"But-"

"Thank you so much for agreeing to do this," she said in a no-nonsense voice. "In addition, we are trying to keep her identity a secret from the press, so please keep quiet. I'll give her all your numbers." With that, Mrs. DiLaurentis paced away.

All the girls looked at each other. Aria cleared her throat and said, "Well, are we all thinking the same thing?"

Hanna rolled he eyes and said, "What? That she's absolutely insane?"

Emily nodded and said, "Hanna's right! We can't have dinner with some random girl with MENTAL PROBLEMS. Her life just came crashing down, and I don't think we should be discussing how ABUSIVE her parents are. Mrs. DiLaurentis is insane. Why is she making us do this?"

"No, Emily. I bet that this girl is LYING. I'm thinking that she's known for a while. I'm thinking she's pissed beyond believe at her parents and that she has been wanting revenge for a while."

"What are you saying, Aria?"

"I'm thinking that she killed Ali!"

**Okay, I know this chapter was a bit weird. The identity of this mysterious daughter will be revealed soon and everything will start making sense, I promise! For now, is this idea sitting okay? It is about to get even more complicated. And don't worry, that earlier nod about this story's need for some Spoby was not in vain. We're almost there! **


	34. A Conversation, part 5

_Chatroom "The TeAm" activated  
Chatroom activated by HugsnKisses  
Sexybeast123 has entered the chatroom  
The_Dude has entered the chatroom  
PrettyMonaV has entered the chatroom_

SEXYBEAST123: damn. it's really happening  
HUGSNKISSES: yes, yes it is. anyone feel like apologizing?  
PRETTYMONAV: apologizing for what?  
HUGSNKISSES: for doubting me. none of u believed i could really make this happen, but it's happening  
THE_DUDE: the plan is officially in action?  
HUGSNKISSES: yes, yes it is ;)  
THE_DUDE: so u finally got rid of wren  
HUGSNKISSES: i didn't say that. i just said that the plan is in action  
PRETTYMONAV: wait, so he's still alive and digging?  
THE_DUDE: ur kidding me. please tell me ur kidding me  
HUGSNKISSES: well, what do u want me to do? kill him?  
THE_DUDE: no, but u have to do something. r u still sending him messages?  
HUGSNKISSES: at least 1 every day. and he's scared shitless, i promise  
SEXYBEAST123: scared enough not to talk? everyone has heard about The DiLaurentis Disaster by now. he is the only 1 who knows the truth, and he has got to keep quiet.  
THE_DUDE: well, this is a fine pile of shit u dug us  
HUGSNKISSES: not exactly. i may have a few more tricks up my sleeve  
PRETTYMONAV: well, that's great. what kind of tricks?  
HUGSNKISSES: u'll see  
PRETTYMONAV: we'll see? are u SERIOUS?  
THE_DUDE: baby, relax  
PRETTYMONAV: no, tell me how u r gonna deal with wren  
SEXYBEAST123: does it matter? she's on it mona  
PRETTYMONAV: is she? is she really?  
HUGSNKISSES: MONA, what is ur deal? u have been against this team for ages. r u thinking about quitting on us? on ME? on Mr. DUDE?  
PRETTYMONAV: don't talk about him. talk about me. talk TO me. just tell me what u r going to do to wren. i need some info.  
HUGSNKISSES: does it have to be likes this mona?  
PRETTYMONAV: yes, yes it does. u have got to tell me something  
HUGSNKISSES: well, what do u want 2 know?  
PRETTYMONAV: how much does wren know? start there  
HUGSNKISSES: he has all the case files on 49721  
THE_DUDE: holy shit. really? y didn't u tell us  
SEXYBEAST123: that is seriously not good  
HUGSNKISSES: i didn't tell u because i have it under control  
PRETTYMONAV: how? what did u do to him?  
HUGSNKISSES: ive found his current location.  
THE_DUDE: u HAVE?  
PRETTYMONAV: and u didn't tell us?  
HUGSNKISSES: i wanted to keep on the DL. but it's been crazy. i've been talking about him, his job, and that weird British girl he's been friends with, but i haven't been able to get a signal on him until now. he's in an apartment in NYC.  
PRETTYMONAV: and this info helps u because...  
HUGSNKISSES: because if he even THINKS about doing something stupid, i will show up and make sure he doesn't step out of line  
PRETTYMONAV: and how would u do that?  
HUGSNKISSES: u'll c  
PRETTYMONAV: NO. listen to me. i am not waiting. i have ruined my life for this team. my respect. my reputation. my friendship with hanna. i can't wait any longer!  
HUGSNKISSES: ur friendship with HANNA? that's y ur so pissed?  
PRETTYMONAV: that isn't the point!  
HUGSNKISSES: it is so the point, mona! u r still fucking obsessed with her!  
PRETTYMONAV: im not obsessed!  
HUGSNKISSES: yes, yes u r! don't pretend we all don't see it. the way u never want to send her any texts, u always volunteering if we need to stake out her house, u always keeping closer tabs on her. god mona, u take stalker to a WHOLE new level  
PRETTYMONAV: FUCK YOU. u have no idea what that is about.

_PrettyMonaV has left the chatroom _

THE_DUDE: u are crossing a line, bitch. u apologize to mona, or we both quit  
HUGSNKISSES: wow, chill out  
THE_DUDE: no. you have one month. if wren is still a problem after four weeks, then i am breaking out mona out of radley and we are running away  
SEXYBEAST123: u can't be serious  
THE_DUDE: do i sound like i am fucking joking? u heard me. i don't gamble on the person that i love. four weeks. understand?

_The_Dude has left the chatroom_

SEXYBEAST123: holy shit  
HUGSNKISSES: u know what this means, right?  
SEXYBEAST123: that this team is down to just the 2 of us?  
HUGSKISSES: no, it means that i am going to have to solve this problem  
SEXYBEAST123: r u serious?  
HUGSNKISSES: yup :) this is going to happen  
SEXYBEAST123: ok, explain the plan to me  
HUGSNKISSES: not now. i don't want this getting traced.  
SEXYBEAST123: ok, want 2 hang out with me wednesday night?  
HUGSNKISSES: can't. i have plans ;)  
SEXYBEAST123: oh yeah i 4got. call me l8r then?  
HUGSNKISSES: totally. i gtg plant the seeds. byyyeee  
SEXYBEAST123: wait.  
HUGSNKISSES: yea?  
SEXYBEAST123: have u thought about what i told u?  
HUGSNKISSES: about what?  
SEXYBEAST123: about me... and you...  
HUGSNKISSES: oh, yeah, that  
SEXYBEAST123: and? have u thought about it?  
HUGSNKISSES: yeah. i have  
SEXYBEAST123: and...  
HUGSNKISSES: and what?  
SEXYBEAST123: and what do u think?  
HUGSNKISSES: i think... u have a chance  
SEXYBEAST123: i do?  
HUGSNKISSES: ya. i do. wanna get coffee tmrw before my... plans?  
SEXYBEAST123: ya. i would  
HUGSNKISSES: :) i seriously have to get going though. txt me 2night, ok?  
SEXYBEAST123: i will. ttyl

_Chatroom "The TeAm" unactivated _


	35. A Plan

"Watcha thinkin about?" Aria said as she gently sat down on the coach in her living room next to Eloise. She placed a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, but neither of them made a move to grab a handful.

"Nothing," she mumbled, but her eyes didn't change. They had a vacant expression as she stared at a spot on a wall.

"C'mon," Aria whispered. She looked around the room nervously and put her arm around Eloise's shoulders, but Eloise shrugged away. "My dad isn't home," Aria said softly. "We have the house completely to ourselves. Now tell me what's wrong."

"It's better to ask what isn't wrong, don't you think?"

"You're thinking about this DiLaurentis kid, right?"

Eloise nodded. "I don't that that you're right. I'm sorry, Aria, I know that's not what you want to hear, but-"

"Eloise, STOP. It makes perfect sense. Why can't you see it? Why can't Emily and Hanna see it? This girl was in a mental hospital for violent and psychotic behaviors. She is seeking revenge on her family for abandoning her. She HATES her family, she has a history of violent behavior, and one of those family members was murdered a few years ago. There is no was this is a coincidence.

Eloise lifted her hand and began to massage the back of her shoulders- it had been tense in the three days since finding out about this girl because she hadn't been sleeping normally. It didn't help that tonight Aria was going out to have dinner with the girl, the first interaction between this child and any of the girls. Eloise was dying to be there, but she knew it wouldn't make sense to show up and be Eloise when the whole point of the dinner was for her to get to know Alison's old friends. She would be dining with Hanna and Emily next week, but Aria had to go first.

"I don't understand what her motive would be, though," said Eloise pensively.

"Um, psychotic and violent behaviors, remember?" said Aria. "She probably found out that she was given up, but they kept their other daughter. She was probably jealous and killed Ali for revenge!

"Aria, you haven't even met the girl. We don't even know her name. We can't jump to this conclusion."

"Yes, we can!" said Aria loudly. "Why can't you see it, Eloise? I'm about to have dinner with Ali's murderer."

"You're not scared, are you?" joked Eloise. But then she saw a flash in Aria's eyes. Her bottom lip trembled as she stared at Eloise for a second too long. "ARE you afraid?" Aria didn't answer; she buried her head in her hands and leaned forward on the couch.

Eloise placed a hand on Aria's back and patted her gently. "Aria, you NEED to go to that restaurant. If you're right, and this girl does have something to do with Alison's murder, then tonight might be the night to figure that out."

Aria shook her head silently. "I can't. I can't go in there and have dinner with the person who murdered Ali. I just can't."

"Aria, you don't know that for sure-"

"Spencer, I KNOW it," said Aria, shaking.

Eloise pulled her hand back. "Aria, that is NOT my name. And I am NOT Spencer any more. Being Spencer is too dangerous. Being Eloise is safe."

Aria pulled her head up. "NOTHING is safe anymore. Especially not this dinner."

"What if I went to the restaurant too?"

"Um, you weren't invited, remember?"

Eloise cocked her head to the side, thinking. "Not with you. I could be right outside the whole time on standby. If something fishy was going on, I could bail you out. You're going to the Grille, right? I could maybe hide in the storage closet, watch you guys through the keyhole. I think there might even be a one way window in there. It's perfect."

Aria looked up at Eloise. "How could you do that? You wouldn't be able to hear what's going on. And besides, you don't really want to sit in a closet all night."

"It's hardly a closet; it's as big as your bathroom. If it looks like something is about to go down, I can be there."

Aria looked at her, more than a little concerned. "Are you absolutely sure? That would be so. . . . "

"Perfect. I could be watching the whole night, and no one would have any ideas. Please, you'll feel safer if there is someone watching, I promise."

Aria swallowed nervously and said, "Okay, you're right, I would feel safer. But promise me that nothing bad will happen."

"Aria, what could possibly go wrong?"


	36. A Coffee Break

Aria and Eloise strolled across a blustery street in downtown Rosewood until the reached The Applerose Grill, a quaint little family restaurant with raspberry lemonade so sweet you could feel the sugar going down your throat and straight up to your brain. Aria checked her watch: 5:45.

"So, the girl texted and said she would meet me here at 6," said Aria nervously. "That should be plenty of time for you to get settled in the closet. I'm going to walk to the Brew and back to make sure it doesn't look suspicious that I'm here so early. Are you sure you're going to be okay in there?"

Eloise nodded. "I'll keep my phone on, so text me if anything happens. When you guys leave, I'll catch a taxi back to home. Good luck." Aria nodded, and Eloise gave her hand a squeeze. Eloise went to open the door of the restaurant, but suddenly stopped and turned around. She ran to Aria and threw her arms around her friend. She pulled her close and whispered quietly enough that only the two could hear, "It'll be fine. You'll be safe. I'll be there watching."

Aria squeezed Eloise tight and buried her head into Eloise's chest. "It's scary, having dinner with a murder."

"Hey, you don't know that," said Eloise, pulling away. She brushed off and straightened Aria's jacket and said. "It a big restaurant, with lots of people, in broad daylight. Nothing can happen." Aria looked up at her with wide, puppy-dog eyes that spoke silently to Eloise.

Eloise knew those eyes all too well. Those eyes said, _you can't be serious_. Those eyes said, _Hey, I'm hurting here, alright_? Those eyes said, _Spencer, please, can't you understand the pain I'm in_? Those eyes told Eloise that Aria was dreading walking in that restaurant, but she knew she had to. Eloise had seen enough of those eyes during the last few days.

She kissed Aria on the crown of her head and whispered softly, "Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection." She and Aria ended the line in sync: "The lover, the dreamers, and me."

"It'll be fine," Eloise whispered, not sure if she was convincing Aria or herself, and turned around. She walked in the restaurant, and she didn't look back this time until she was inside.

Aria sighed and strolled down the block briskly towards the Brew. She always loved going to the Brew. It had that fun, young artsy vibe that basically described Aria's life. Also, Emily let Aria and the others use her employee discount: free coffee on the days that she worked there.

_A little caffeine might calm my nerves_, thought Aria. She realized that she didn't have much money on her, though, so she strolled inside to see if Emily was working the counters. Unfortunately, she wasn't.

"ARIA?" a surprised voice said from one of the couches in the Brew. "What are you doing here?"

Aria spun around to find CeCe sitting on a new leather couch. She was holding a travel cup of coffee and her knee was jiggling nervously. "Oh, hi, Cece," said Aria. "I just stopped in to grab a cup of coffee before this dinner I have to go to."

Suddenly, Aria's stomach flip-flopped and she realized she wasn't sure if she'd be able to hold down a coffee. Groaning, she flopped down next to CeCe on the couch. "Ugh, I'm sure you heard about the DiLaurentis's illegitimate child right? Well, guess who I'm having dinner with."

Aria didn't even wait for CeCe to respond. It was nice to have a confidante to spill stuff to, so Aria continued without thinking twice. "I mean, I am supposed to stroll into the Grille and meet this psycho bitch, have dinner with her, and try to convince her that the DiLaurentises are great parents? Yeah, right. I mean, I'll be lucky if I walk out of there without a bullet in my brain. This girl has got to be a total nut job, and do I look like Mother Theresa to you? I mean, if lost two of my best friends in three years. Why should I have to put up with this selfish wacko who probably is just a money sucking leech?"

Suddenly, Aria seemed to remember CeCe's presence. Aria looked over at her to see why she hadn't said anything, and she noticed that CeCe's eyes were red like she had been crying. "CeCe, are you okay?"

CeCe sniffled and turned to face Aria. "No, Aria, I'm not. I'm not okay."

Aria grabbed the emergency tissues that she had been keeping in her purse lately (she had a lot of tissue requiring issues) and passed one to CeCe. "Can I help?" asked Aria. "What's going on?"

CeCe sniffled, looked Aria in the eye, and said in the sarcastic, condescending voice she was famous for, "I don't think you can fix my problems. I just found out that I'm adopted, and I'm the illegitimate child of the DiLaurentises. I don't think your tissues will solve that, hon."

* * *

When Eloise looked back, Aria was already walking briskly down the street towards the Brew at the end of the block. _It'll be fine_, she thought again, and casually strolled the the back of the restaurant.

When she reached the back wall, she dug in her purse for her cell phone and her ID, the one that Elijah had made for her. She pretended she was texting while she casually slid the ID back and forth in the lock. When she finally heard a click, she looked around to make sure that no one was watching and slid the door open. She slipped inside quickly and pulled the door closed.

Eloise peered out the one way window, and the busy night at the grill unfolded before her eyes. Waiters busily carried platters of grilled chicken parmesan and fettuccine alfredo to tables and empty wine glasses to the kitchen. Young adults on dates chattered carefully over spinach dip and mozzarella stick appetizers. Gleeful little kids sipped raspberry lemonades from fat, squat glasses with sprigs of parsley sticking out. No one was aware that Eloise was watching everything, taking it all in.

_Should be smooth sailing from here_, thought Eloise as a hand reached in front of her from behind and clamped over her mouth, a second hand wrapping around her torso and pulling her backwards so that no one would hear her muffled screams.


	37. A Connection

"Whoever you are, shut the hell up," a husky voice growled as Eloise screamed and kicked. It was definitely male, but of uncertain age or accent. "If you keep that up, whoever you're hiding from will find us, and both of us will be in trouble, so I suggest that you- OOF!"

He cut off as Eloise's head smacked him in the chin. It hit with a satisfying smacking sound, and he released her and grabbed for his mouth. Eloise dashed forward and grabbed a skillet of a shelf, the closest thing she could see to a weapon. She turned around, and finally faced the person for the first time. She gasped, and whispered, "Who the hell are you?"

The voice had come from a tall, muscular figure wearing a tight black hoodie and jeans. It was clearly someone young, someone fit. His hands were covered by thick, black leather gloves, and he wore nondescript grey sneakers that looked like they had been white once in a past life. The hood on the jacket was up, and the man's face was covered by a black ski mask with only his eyes showing. In the dim, light, Eloise couldn't tell the color or anything else about them, except that they were pissed. Eloise noticed that the jeans were ripped, the jacket stained and fraying. Whoever it was was clearly hiding, and he was definitely in some sort of trouble.

"Well, does it matter who the hell I am?" The guy leaned back on the closet's far wall and rubbed his jaw. He glared at Eloise and said in that same, gravelly voice, "This is my hiding spot; I got here first. So, I suggest that you gather your things and clear out before I make you clear out. Is that understood, princess?"

Eloise flicked a quick glance out towards the restaurant; Aria wasn't even here yet. She groaned; Aria could walk in at any second, and there was no way Eloise could leave the closet now without blowing her cover. "I'm sorry for invading your precious hiding space, but I'm spying on someone, and if they see me leave now, I will be in quite a bit of trouble."

The guy chuckled. He had a nice laugh, sexy albeit cocky. "Ah, so you're up to no good, just like me. Who in there are you spying on, Sherlock?"

Eloise frowned. "Wouldn't it make more sense to compare me to Nancy Drew, a _female_ known for her sleuthing abilities?"

He laughed again. _That_, thought Eloise, _is one hot chuckle_. "Smart ass," he said. She could tell by the crinkles around his eyes that he was smiling. They were nice eyes, and she could now see that they were a friendly color of blue- not quite piercing, icy blue, but much paler and softer. "I figured the famous Holmes would be more appropriate, considering your birthplace, ol' chap." The last few words he said with a British accent. The accent had come so naturally to Eloise in the last few months that she hardly had to make an effort to remember to use it anymore. But when this mysterious stranger mimicked her, she felt self-conscious and shy.

"So who ARE you spying on, _Nancy_?" he taunted. There was something familiar about that cocky, growly voice that Eloise couldn't place.

Eloise motioned for him to walk over to the window. Up close, she could see that he was a good half a foot taller than her, maybe a little less. The two of them pressed their faces up against the window. Eloise's eyes darted towards the door. Aria still hadn't come in, and it didn't seem like anything was going on._ I might as well humor this creep_, Eloise thought as her eyes scanned through the restaurant.

"Them," she said, pointing at two people in a corner booth. One was Abby Summers, a generic, tall, brunette girl on Spencer's old field hockey team two years older than her. Eloise knew she was at Hollis now, and the sporty looking blond guy she was with was probably her boyfriend. Thinking on her feet, she started to ramble off an explanation. "The guy, Jacob, is my ex. and that bitch used to be my friend before she stole him. This was where he took me on my first date, too."

Mr. Ski Mask chuckled again, that smooth, sexy chuckle, and walked back towards the rear of the closet. "So what? This sounds like it'd make a fine episode of Degrassi, but it's no reason to go nuts stalking these two."

"You watch Degrassi?" said Eloise, raising an eyebrow. She watched it religiously, but she rarely met anyone else who was a fan. Spencer had frequently forced Emily, Aria, Hanna, and Toby to sit through episodes with her, but all of them were bored with the over-dramatic line delivery and confused by the twisted story lines.

Mr. Ski-Mask nodded. "An ex got me into it. I used to hate the show, but . . . it reminds me of her, I guess. I know, that's kind of pathetic."

"It's not," whispered Eloise. "My ex gave me one of his undershirts, and I still wear it under my sweater sometimes." _Whoa_, Eloise thought. _Why did I just say that_? She had never, ever told anyone that. But when she wore the shirt, it felt warm and soft, just like Toby, and it smelled like wood shavings from his carpentry projects and his musky cologne. How could she have admitted that to this stranger in a random closet?

_No, he isn't just some stranger_, she thought through the awkward silence. They had some things in common. They were both hiding from someone, spying on someone, and glad to have finally friend who understood what kind of mess had driven them to hide in a closet. Eloise could imagine the hell that his life was that had driven him here, something that she could definitely relate to. It comforted her to know that some one could finally understand what she had done, what she had felt, and the way her life was turning out.

_I might as well make a friend, if nothing else comes of tonight_. Whoever Mr. Ski Mask was, there was something about him that made her feel safe. She extended her hand and said, "My name is Eloise. Eloise Williams. It looks like we are going to be in here together for a while, so you might as well take off that mask and tell me who you are, too."

Mr. Ski Mask chuckled again, that sexy chuckle. She loved that chuckle. Eloise wanted to rip that chuckle's clothes off and make love to it. Suddenly, in the second before he pulled off his black ski mask and ran his gloved hand through his hair, Eloise released exactly why she loved that chuckle so much. She had heard that chuckle a thousand times before, on late nights in the hot tub, on mid-afternoon coffee dates, on the couch in her living room, on her bed while it swam through the room, vibrating through her while its strong arms wrapped around her body.

When the mask slid off, Eloise saw the soft, smiley blue eyes more clearly as if they had known her forever, which they had. She knew every detail of that beautiful face, from the soft, pink lips that could kiss like you couldn't believe, to his cute, bumpy nose that had nuzzled against hers in so many blissful memories. His light brown hair had grown long and shaggy since she had seen him last, and she could remember every single time she ran her fingers through it. His face formed a familiar smile, so sweet that it could melt the polar ice caps. A million emotions passed through Eloise as the boy uttered the scariest thing she had ever heard, yet the thing she had been dying to hear for months:

"I'm Toby. Toby Cavanaugh."

**Well, did I deliver for the Spoby fans? :) Now that Toby is bad in town, things are going to get HOT and TRICKY. I hope I will be able to update soon, but I have a busy schedule! Please review! **


	38. A True Love

**Sorry for waiting so long to update! I have been having some serious computer troubles, but it is working now. In response to an anonymous comment, I will state that Toby, Hanna, and Emily will all EVENTUALLY find out that Eloise is Spencer, but it will not be just quite yet. Enjoy the next chapter!**

* * *

"Hey, hey Eloise," a voice whispered. Eloise rubbed at her sleepy eyes and dizzily sat up. "You fell asleep," whispered Toby as he helped her to her feet. "It's nearly four AM."

"Really?" said Eloise dreamily. "I can't believe I slept so long." She really couldn't. She hadn't slept very well over the last few months- well, last few years. Who could blame her? But with Toby by her side, she had slept like a baby, and she had never felt more rejuvenated. "What were we even talking talking about?"

"Talking? Is that what we were doing?" Toby said with a smile. He leaned close to her kissed her gently on the lips. Eloise kissed back for a moment. It may have been Eloise calling the shots, but it was Spencer's body, and Spencer loved Toby. She loved his lips, his body, his beautiful face Spencer missed Toby. And when his hands flew over her body, all of last night came flooding back to her.

The two had sat down together on the cement floor of the closet, and Toby had told her an abridged version of everything that had happened to him. He told the tales of a nameless girl who had the body of Aphrodite but a mind and personality that made everyone melt in her hands like putty, a girl who had been flawless and graceful and pulled him out of his abject, miserable life with his father and step family, a girl whose photo he had shown her because he kept it in his wallet so that he would never forget the color of her hair, the arrangement of freckles on her face, the sharp angles of her cheekbones and sloping nose that were as familiar to him as his own hands. He described this nameless girl as the light of his life, the only good soul in a town full of phonies, fakes, and liars.

He told Eloise that he had betrayed her and befriended the person who had _bullied_ the nameless girl, the person who had bullied her into depression. That just how he described it. Bullies. As if it were an after school special. As if they had put gum in her hair or a tack on their stool.

He admitted that when the girl found out that he was friends with the very group that had _bullied_ her and that he had even helped _prank_ her on occasion, she killed herself. He teared up while telling the story, looking away from Eloise while he swatted baby tears from his eyes, trying to be tough but failing miserably.

His voice turned from soft and dreamy as it had been when he described the girl to harsh and full of vengeance as his story continued. He told her that helping the bullies had been the worst decision of his life, and that he knew he was going to be blamed for the death of the girl, so he had to run. He said that sometimes he blamed himself, but he said he only kept helping the bullies because he knew that he needed to be in control of the torture, not watching it go on.

"It's all about control," he whispered to her, staring deep into Eloise's eyes. "It doesn't matter if you actually have control, but if people think that you do, you can make ANYTHING happen."

It gave Eloise chills to hear, but not as much as what she heard after: that he had come to avenge the nameless girl's death. He was on the run because the girl's loved ones blamed him, but he had been back to Rosewood because he wanted to make every single bully pay for what they did to her.

Eloise couldn't remember during what point during the night they began to kiss. He whispered that he hadn't felt such a connection to somebody since he had been with the nameless girl. Eloise kept feeling Spencer come back to her as she and Toby kissed, unable to control her emotions. But hearing Toby speak of Spencer like that- it made her feel loved, and missed. And when he kissed her, it had felt like the missing puzzle piece in her life had been filled. After a while, she fell asleep in his arms, feeling safe and complete for the first time in what felt like ever. She couldn't wait to tell Aria what had happened.

_Aria. Shit_. She was probably so, so pissed that Eloise never come home. Eloise pulled away from Toby and reached into her pocket for her cell phone, but it was gone. She groaned and knelt to the floor, feeling around for the phone.

"Something wrong?" asked Toby. "Did you lose something?"

"My phone. I was. . . . waiting for a text from a friend of mine. She will be quite frustrated with me if I don't respond promptly."

The sexy chuckle swirled in the closet around them. "Eloise, I don't think she is expecting a response this early in the morning. Is that it?" He pointed next to a sack of flour in the corner of the room.

"Yes, thank you," Eloise responded, grabbing the phone. She flipped it open; no new messages. That didn't make sense. Aria would have definitely texted her if she didn't return promptly. Aria SWORE she would be texting Eloise every minute! What could have possibly-

_OH FUCK_. Oh God, what if Aria was right? What if this girl had done something to her? What if something bad happened, and it was all her fault? She had promised Aria that she would be watching, and she promised herself that she would never, ever let anything bad happen to Aria again. She had already broken one of those promises; there was no way she could break another.

"Toby, I have to go," she said, reaching for the door.

"Wait," he whispered, and grabbed her close. He gently kissed her nose and said, "Can I see you again?" Eloise nodded, and he slipped a piece of paper into her pocket. "My number." He reached for the door and opened it for her. "After you, _Nancy_."

Eloise laughed. "See you soon, Toby."


	39. An Argument

**Hey, so I have been really busy lately and I'm not sure if I have the time to continue with this story. I have a lot on my plate, and I'm not sure if I have time to keep up with this. If you want me to keep writing, PLEASE write a review and tell me or PM. I only want to continue if I have people interested in reading. Do you want more?**

* * *

Eloise tip-toed up the steps towards her bedroom. With every step she prayed that she would find Aria asleep in her bed, but as she drew closer and closer she came closer to think it wasn't true. She didn't know what she could do if Aria wasn't there. She could try calling her, but it was nearly 5 AM. Wherever she was, she would probably be asleep.

Suddenly, Eloise noticed Aria's purse sitting by the side of the steps. _Thank God,_ she thought, breathing a bid sigh of relief. Aria never went anywhere without her purse. She must be asleep in her bedroom, perfectly safe and sound. Aria was probably dead asleep, so Eloise would have to wait until the next morning to hear about the DiLaurentis girl and how the dinner went. Even more importantly, she couldn't wait to tell Aria about Toby.

Toby. He was alive, and beautiful, and he missed her. He wanted to avenge her death. She knew she should feel pain on some level that she had ruined his life, that he was heartbroken over her death when she was really alive. But, Jesus, having a guy swearing to avenge your death was _so_ hot. It felt to her that everything was going back to the way it should be- she had Aria, she had Toby, and she had her old life back.

_No, _she thought to herself as she opened her bedroom door slowly._ This isn't my old life, and I'm not Spencer. I have no claim to Spencer's boyfriend. I have to win him like anyone else would_. Eloise pulled open the door to her bedroom with a smile, thinking of seeing Toby again. But that smile quickly faded when she saw Aria, sitting on the edge of her bed, stiff as a stone with eyes that wanted murder.

"Where. The. Fuck. Have. You. Been." It should have been a question, but Aria's voice was solid, consistent.

"You won't believe it Aria, I-"

"I THOUGHT I COULD FUCKING TRUST YOU!"

"Aria, I-"

"No, LISTEN to me, Spencer-"

"That's not my name anymore!"

Aria laughed, but it was full of malice. "Clearly. CLEARLY you are not Spencer Hastings. Because the Spencer Hastings that I know wouldn't have left me there to die."

"Left you to die? Aria, isn't that a bit over-dramatic?"

"Um, not exactly. I walked into that dinner believing in my heart and soul that I was dining with a MURDERER, and you were the only person who had my back. And you let me down. I could have ended up dead tonight if I was right. Thank God I was wrong, but I was COUNTING on you to be there if something happened!"

"But, Aria, I-"

"You what?" Silence. "You WHAT, Eloise?"

Aria was furious, absolutely furious. Eloise had never seen Aria so angry with her, and she knew that Aria would be even more upset that Eloise was to busy making out with A to see what was going on.

_What would she say when she found out about Toby_? Eloise wondered. Would she be pissed? Surprised? Happy? Sad? What would she do? _Nothing_, realized Eloise after a moment. _She won't do anything because I'm not going to tell her_.

"I hit my head," whispered Eloise, thinking on her feet. "I dropped my phone under a shelf, and when I went to pick it up, I banged my head on the shelf. I sat down for a few minutes, and I guess I fell asleep. I'm sorry." _You're protecting him_, she told herself. _You will see him again, and no one has to know._

Aria's harsh features softened. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just go hit pretty hard."

"Are you sure? You might have a concussion."

"Yeah, I'm just really tired," Eloise said. She sniffled softly. "I'm just going to go to bed."

Aria pouted as she stood up. "You don't want to know how the dinner went?"

Eloise started to pull back the blankets. "Aria, it's nearly five AM. I need an hour of sleep before I have to go to school tomorrow. Can you tell me later?"

"No, I really need to talk to you first. Eloise, it was CeCe. CeCe is adopted, and the DiLaurentises are her parents."

The words hit Eloise like a cannon shot in the gut. "How is that possible?" she whimpered.

"Well, CeCe isn't her real name, but now one knows that except her parents. That was the name the DiLaurentises knew, so they didn't recognize her when she started becoming friends with Jason and Ali."

Eloise sat down on the bed, rubbing her temples. "Didn't they recognize her last name, though? How could they be that ridiculously stupid?"

Aria sighed. "Her family changed her last name. She said they did it to protect her after she started going through some issues a few years back."

"What kinds of issues?"

Aria looked at her. "Issues that took her to Radley. Those kinds of issues. They changed her name to keep her away from bullies and press, I guess."

Eloise sighed deeply and said, "Aria, I'm exhausted. Can we talk more tomorrow?"

"Sure," whispered Aria. "Are you sure that your head is okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, if you're sure," Aria whispered. She sniffled softly, baby tears forming in her eyes.

"Aria, are you okay?" said Eloise tenderly, placing a hand on her friend's knee.

Aria shook her head and whimpered slightly. "I'm so, so sorry I yelled at you earlier," she said sadly. "I- I don't know what I was thinking, really. I was just so SCARED, and-"

"Hey," said Eloise when she saw that Aria was trying really hard not to start crying. "It's okay," she whispered, pulling Aria into a hug. "I shouldn't have left you hanging like that."

"This is just a mess," said Aria as Eloise stroked her back gently. "CeCe is Ali's sister, everyone thinks you're dead but me, and we still have NO idea who killed Ali or who A is. I don't know how I can keep living like this."

"You should go to sleep," whispered Eloise. "You can stay in here with me if you want."

Aria nodded, and Eloise drew back the covers. Eloise quickly changed into her pajamas while Aria got settled under the blankets.

"Hey Aria?" asked Eloise offhandedly as she threw on some sweat pants. "I was just wondering- what was CeCe's old name? The one that the DiLaurentises knew her by?"

"Candace," mumbled Aria, blankets drawn up to her chin. "Candace Mallard, or something like that. I'd never heard it before That mean anything to you?"

Eloise shook her head as she climbed onto the bed. "Never heard it before," she said, shrugging as she slid under the blankets next to Aria's tiny, shaking, cold body. "It's probably not important."

"You're probably right," said Aria, inching into Eloise's warmth. She curled up against Eloise's soft body and sighed. "Let's just get some sleep. 'Night, Eloise."

"Goodnight, Aria."


	40. A Friendship

**I want to thank everyone for the reviews and messages that I received. It really made me happy to see that my story is affecting you. I WILL continue this story, but with less frequent updates. There at at LEAST fifteen or twenty more planned chapters, so it goes on for a quite a bit more. Thank you so much for caring.**

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When Aria slammed the door of her locker the next morning, Holden's face was looking back at her from behind it. She flinched when their eyes locked. "Someone's jumpy today," he chuckled, pulling her in close for a kiss.

Aria pulled back shyly after their lips touched briefly. "You scared me," she whispered, half smiling and half shaking. "Where have you been all week? You haven't been at school, and you didn't answer your phone."

Holden stuck his hands in his pockets. "I had the flu. I couldn't even see straight, much less send a text message. I've been so out of touch."

"Oh," Aria whispered, embarrassed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now. I missed you though."

"Mmhmm." Aria couldn't bring herself to say that she missed him too. Through all the hell of that last few days, she hadn't really been thinking about Holden. Did that make her a bad girlfriend? And why hadn't she found out he was sick? Should she have done something? Brought him soup, his homework, something, ANYTHING? But, she'd been so busy with-

"So, I miss anything important?" said Holden, checking his cell.

Aria blushed. "Um, kind of. You actually missed something kind of big." She stared at the floor, unsure of how to continue.

"Oh yeah? How big?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

"Real big," she whispered. She could feel her eyes watering. She wasn't sure how she could tell this to Holden.

"Hey, you okay? Hey, Aria, what happened?" Holden shuffled closer to her and tried to look her in the eye, but she was staring at the floor at the tiled floor.

Aria cleared her throat. "Holden, The DiLaurentises-"

"HOLDEN?" an all too familiar voice squealed from down the hall. Aria's eyes darted up and saw Cece at the end of the hall. She looked all-American and wholesome in tight, dark denim jeans and a red, swishy top that looked great with her soft, flowing blonde hair. In addition, she was running to Aria at full force.

Well, maybe not Aria. Holden snapped his head up when he heard his name, and his eyes grew wide with surprise when he saw CeCe barreling towards him. Aria cleared her throat nervously; this would be awkward to explain to Holden.

"Holden, there's something I have to tell you-"

But Holden didn't hear. He was running towards CeCe like a joyful Labrador, and he slammed into her body and wrapped his arms around her like he had done it a thousand times before.

"CANDACE! What are you DOING here?" He yelled excitedly. At the same time, Cece yelled, "Holden! It's SO good to see you!"

_DID I MISS SOMETHING_?

Aria walked briskly towards them while they chattered happily. They didn't seem to notice her next to her while they talked. It seemed like they had known each other for quite some time. _What the hell_? Aria cleared her throat and tapped her foot angrily.

"Oh, Aria, HI!" said CeCe. "I was just here picking up some paperwork about my diploma. I need it for something to do with my business permit for my store. You know Holden?"

Aria nodded once, her eyebrows raised high. "Um, yeah. He happens to be me boyfriend."

"Ohhh, Holden," said CeCe suggestively, as if they were sharing some sort of private joke about his sex life, which they shouldn't have been! Holden blushed a little and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So, you guys know each other?" Aria hoped that it sounded casual and that it didn't give away the surprise and irritation in her voice.

"Yeah, kinda," Holden mumbled, suddenly aware of Aria's presence.

"KIND OF?" CeCe smiled knowingly at Holden. "We've only been best friends for, like, EVER!"

_And he didn't tell me about it? _Holden cleared his throat awkwardly and said, "So, Candance, how are you doing?"

_He calls her CANDACE? He knows about her being Candace? _"I'm sorry, how do you guys know each other?" Aria blurted before CeCe could answer.

CeCe smiled brightly at Aria. "He's been my best friend, for like, EVER! He's the one who found out about the DiLaurentises being my parents in the first place."

Aria's stomach dropped into her feet. "He did? How?"

CeCe flashed Holden a big smile, but before she could say something, he butted in. "She asked me to pick up a copy of her birth certificate from the Pennsylvania records hall. I just saw the names there, and I had to say something."

Cece nodded and said, "He's really changed my life in more ways than one." She said it suggestively, as if there was some deep bond that Aria couldn't understand. "He never mentioned it to you?"

Aria shook her head, her jaw clenched. "No, he didn't."

CeCe raised her eyebrows. "Hm, I wonder why," she said in that familiar, condescending way that Ali had. "I thought you guys were close."

"I did, too," said Aria tightly. She inhaled deeply, excused herself, and stiffly walked away. Hot tears stung in her eyes, and Holden didn't run after her.


	41. A Breakup

**Sorry for not doing this in the last chapter, but I wanted to thank GoddessArtemis1999, Britrocs, MyQueenTroian, Runawaybaby555, sgdp1261, WTRGAL01, JessyRae, ConverseLove64, SpariaLoving, Mackenzie, and assorted other anonymous reviewers for writing me reviews. That's what makes me want to keep going, seeing all of your positive feedback. Thank you all so much, it really means a lot to me.**

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"What the hell are you doing here?" Aria glared up at Holden from her place in Eloise's arms. A blanket was draped loosely over the two of them as they rested in Aria's bed.

"I heard you went home sick," said Holden nervously. "You were fine this morning when we talked."

"Yeah, well, get an epilepsy diagnosis and a prescription for Zoloft, maybe your parents might let you take a few extra sick days every now and then without asking questions."

"Can we talk about this Aria? Please?"

Aria glared at him. "Eloise, can we have some privacy for just a few seconds?" Eloise nervously looked between the two of them, but got up, mumbling that she was meeting a friend for coffee. She told them that she would be back in a few hours and left the room. Holden sat down on the bed, but Aria didn't make any move to sit up. "So, I'm listening. Start explaining."

Holden nodded and swallowed nervously, his Adam's apple bobbing. "So you know how my mom is a psychologist, right? Well, her office spends a lot of time at Radley. One of her partner's theories was that it would help kids with mental problems to have normal friends. A whole bunch of the doctors would bring in their kids, and each one got buddied with a mental patient who was about their age. Each patient got three or four friends, basically their only friends, and I was one of Candace's- uh, CeCe's. So when my mom had me start doing it, I got paired with her. We would play together after school, every day, for years."

"When did you start?"

"Um, around the time the DiLaurentis family moved to town. We were in fourth grade, I think."

"I remember." And she did. Aria could remember the sparkly, bubbly new girl with blond ringlets who smiled so brightly that everyone wanted to sit with her at circle time. What Aria hadn't known was that this girl had a hidden sister that she didn't even know about, imprisoned in a mental hospital downtown. "Is that why they came here? Moved to Rosewood to be close to her?"

Holden shrugged. "I really don't know. They might have found out their daughter had issues and got concerned, but she was still locked up in a mental hospital, all alone. Radley is one of the best in the state. They thought she would get better there, but. . . ."

"But what? Holden, but what?"

"I think that the DiLaurentises think that she killed Ali. They haven't said anything to me, but it's a vibe. They think that maybe she knew something earlier and wanted revenge on the family, so she took it out on Ali. I'm pretty sure they thought that since Ali went missing. She swears that she didn't, though."

"Why did you believe her?"

"Aria, she had been my best friend for years by then. I told her everything about me, and she told me everything about herself. She would never, ever lie to me, I promise. And I know that she didn't do it."

"You do?" said Aria. "How could you possibly know? She could have just been acting surprised when you told her."

"Well, I've actually known the DiLaurentises were her parents for a while," admitted Holden. "I found out when I first met her because my mom had all her files. I didn't tell her until recently because I wanted to wait until this whole Ali murder thing blew over. She was definitely shocked when I told her."

Aria gasped. "You knew all that time? You knew for years and never told her?"

Holden shrugged. "She was in a compromised mental state when I first knew her. And then when she was cleared, I knew it couldn't be good. She DATED Jason, and she was friends with Ali. They were her first good friends when she left the hospital, and it would have killed her to find out. I only just told her because she needed to look at her birth certificate."

Aria cast her eyes down. "You never told _me_."

"Aria, I-"

"Holden, my best friend had a secret sister in a mental hospital, and you knew for years and never told me. Holden, we've known each other since we were born. We've been dating since October. And you never told me."

"Aria, I couldn't tell anyone. Her family was so embarrassed about her that they threatened to sue the hospital if anyone ever found out about her. My mom would lose her job. Why can't you understand that?"

_Why can't I UNDERSTAND?_ Why couldn't he understand that this was NOT okay? He had kept this from her, and they were supposed to be dating.

_This is it_, Aria realized. _It has to happen_. "Holden, we're over."

His face turned grey, his mouth gaping open. "WHAT?"

"Holden, we both knew this was coming. Things haven't been good between us for a while. You kept a big secret from me, and I'm not okay with that. I'm sorry, but I can't be with someone who isn't honest with me."

Holden nodded stiffly, stood up, and stalked out the door. Aria moaned softly and grabbed a pillow. She pressed it into her face and thought to herself, _I may have just lost the only person who knows what the hell is going on. And I just lost someone who cared about me._

The worst part was, she didn't know which was more important to her anymore.


	42. A Discovery

**Well, I know I said that I would update less frequently, but I'm trying to avoid doing my homework, so here is the next chapter. I'm really eager to post this one because it ends with a HUGE reveal. Hope you like it! Please review!**

**Also, I'm not going to add any more A-Team chatrooms to make the plot move faster. Unless you really want to read more of them? Let me know! **

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"I missed you," Eloise whispered as Toby's lips caressed her face. She leaned in closer to him, struggling for balance as she perched on the bathroom sink of a Yarmouth starbucks. He texted her an hour ago asking if she was free to grab a latte. Apparently, "grab a latte" meant "make out in the bathroom." They couldn't really talk in the shop; someone might overhear them. The bathroom was more private, more secluded.

"I missed you too," he said, running his fingers through her hair. Eloise tensed; perhaps she should have spent more time straightening it this morning. But Toby didn't seem to notice that the texture was anything similar to Spencer's; he seemed pretty distracted. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, but it had been a. . . rough day."

She traced small circles on his back with her fingers. "Something happen today?"

He nodded and moaned. "You don't even know what a rough day is until you see the girl you are trying to kill within spitting distance and can't touch her."

"Kill?" Shivers ran down Eloise's spine. Toby wanted to kill these people? That stopped being sexy and started being scary.

Toby sighed. "I don't know. She was one of the bullies I told you about. I saw one today, and I want her to. . . pay. To suffer."

"You saw her? How?"

Toby pulled back away from Eloise and ran his fingers through his hair. "I saw her, but she didn't see me. There she was doing fine, kissing her boyfriend, that low-life bastard, like she didn't have a goddam care in the world. The guy- he was one of the . . . bullies too. I could just see them, laughing there, not even caring that they caused her to die. I had to leave. I couldn't fucking look at them without wanting to punch them."

Eloise breathed in deeply. He must have been talking about Mona. But who was she dating? She had promised Aria that they were going to find out what happened, and this might be her chance. "They're dating, huh? Two of them?"

"Yeah, but it's not a fair relationship. I mean, she has the guy wrapped around her finger. He has been mooning over her forever, and she knows how to take advantage of him. I don't even think she really likes him."

Eloise swallowed. "It sounds like this girl is pretty manipulative."

Toby chuckled again. Eloise did her best not to moan. "You don't even know the half of it. This bitch, she's the leader of all of the others. She had a bone to pick with . . . the girl I told you about and her friends. She won't do squat, so she tricks everyone into giving her what she wants."

"What kind of bone? What does she have against the girl?" As soon as she said it, she knew it was too far.

Toby's eyes turned jet black. "It's complicated," he growled. Eloise inched away, defensively. _What the hell_? Mona's bone was simple- she had been bullied by Alison, Spencer, and the others mercilessly. Why couldn't Toby just SAY that?

"I'm sorry for being intrusive," Eloise whispered. "I just want to help. It seems like you're in a lot of pain. I just want to help by understanding"

"You are already helping," Toby whispered and leaned in again. He pressed his body up against hers and pressed their mouths together. After a few seconds, he pulled back. "You are the only good thing in my life right now. I won't let that bitch manipulate me ever again."

Eloise's heart fluttered when she heard him say that. She leaned in to kiss him again, hips lips like butterflies dancing on hers. She pulled back after a second, realizing that she had to dig even deeper. "She manipulated you? How?"

Toby kissed her on her nose. "She. . . it's hard to explain. She just knows how to control people. Like, she had two guys fighting over her, two of the bullies. She only really didn't like either of them, but she thought having them both around was valuable. So somehow, she convinced her best friend to go after one of them. The guy was. . . weak. He'd never really gotten attention from a girl before, and he fell for the friend instantly. This bitch managed to keep both guys close, and she got one of the dweebs hanging off her back."

Eloise tried to hide her shock. Were there really that many people under Mona's control? She couldn't even begin to imagine who the people in this story were. The only people on the A-Team that she knew about were Toby, Ezra and Mona. This made three more people, at least! Unless Ezra was one of those guys. But that didn't make sense because he was so in love with Aria! Or WAS he-

It was too much. Her mind felt like it was exploding. There was at least two boys and one girl on the team that she didn't know about. And somehow, Mona was manipulating all of them.

Unless, maybe Mona wasn't the leader. Maybe some one else was.

"The funny thing is, now the best friend and the guy are totally in love. It's the only good thing that came from this. They were both so. . . lost. And hurting. That was the only reason they were so easily manipulated. But now that they're together, it's kind of a big pile of shit back in the head bitch's face."

"Why is it a big pile of shit?"

"They're stronger now, that they're together. Mucus is actually a perfect couple."

"MUCUS?"

Toby laughed. "Oh, yeah, that's what we all called them, the girl and the guy. It's like their celebrity couple name."

"Why one Earth would you call them mucus?"

"It's. . . " It seemed like, for a moment, he was deciding how much to tell her, how much he could trust her. After a second, he made his decision. "It's their names put together. Her name is Mona, his name is Lucas. Mona and Lucas. Mucus."

Inwardly, Eloise gasped. "You okay?" asked Toby, feeling her muscles tense.

"I'm fine," she whispered. But she wasn't fine. Without meaning to, Toby had just told her that Lucas was on the A Team.


	43. An Emergency

**This one ends in a cliffhanger, but I probably won't post the next chapter tonight. Sorry- I'll be otherwise occupied screaming at the television! **

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"Where have you been all night?" asked Aria as Eloise strolled into the Montgomory house the following morning.

"I rented a hotel room so you could be alone," said Eloise nervously. She didn't actually rent the hotel room; Toby had paid for it. But she did spent the night there.

"Who with?"

"What makes you think I was with some one?" asked Eloise, eyebrows raised. Okay, she WAS with some one, but she couldn't say who or why.

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" said Aria with a smirk as she stared at Eloise. Eloise dug through her purse until she found a compact mirror. She flipped it open and searched her appearance until she found what Aria was staring at: a big, round, red hickey on the left side of her neck.

_SHIT. _"I, uh, I met him at a coffee shot. We made out a little, but that was IT."

Aria shrugged. "You don't have to lie to me. But I never pegged you for a one night stand kind of girl."

"Aria, I did NOT sleep with him, I promise," declared Eloise. "We made out a little, but that was it." It was the truth- she and Toby had just kissed, snuggled, kissed some more, and fell asleep in each other's arms. She was dying to get naked with him, but some part of her told her it wasn't fair to him. She already knew so much more about him than she was letting on, and it made him too vulnerable. Also, she would make sure that when- _IF _it happened, he would use a condom this time . . .

But her mind was elsewhere for most of the night. Lucas and Mona were on the A team, and Mona was NOT the leader of the team. She kept trying to think of Mona and Lucas together, some sign that they were in love like Toby described, but it wasn't there. They must have been GENIUS actors. Well, so was Toby...

"What happened to _you_, Aria?" Eloise couldn't help but notice the pile of damp tissues sitting on the trashcan next to the couch where Aria was sitting or the thousands of Snickers wrappers decorating the couch.

Aria closed her eyes and moaned softly. "I dumped him" she whispered. "I dumped my boyfriend. I dumped the only person that still loves me. Well, _loved_ me."

"Whoa, that's definitely not true," said Eloise as she sat down on the couch and wrapped her arms around Aria. "_I _love you. You're like my sister. I love you so much, even more than you know."

Aria shrugged. "Well, you're not technically alive."

Eloise couldn't argue with that. "What about Hanna and Emily? What about your parents?"

Aria sniffled and grabbed another tissue. "They're AFRAID of me. They treat me like a ticking time bomb that might explode any second."

"Aria, they DO love you. They are just scared FOR you, not OF you. They want you to be better."

Aria looked at her angrily. "I _AM_ better, they just can't see it. Why can't anyone see that I'm doing fine? I am finally under control, and everyone still sees me as the girl who got drunk and nearly killed herself. I am not just that girl!" With that, angry tears began streaming down her face.

"Shhh, don't cry," whisper Eloise, rocking back and forth with Aria in her arms. Why was everything so unfair? Just as Eloise had gained back the boy SHE loved, Aria had the boy that SHE loved.

Well, maybe love was too strong of a word. Eloise wasn't sure if Aria ever DID love Holden. But he was good for her, keeping her grounded and not getting tangled in secrets and lies. He was always a safe, sturdy thing to fall back on, and now he was gone from her life.

Suddenly, Eloise's phone began to bleat loudly. She pressed ignore without even looking at who was calling, far too busy with Aria to deal with whoever it was. But it started ringing not only a second later.

Eloise pressed ignore again, but the ringing began just as quickly. This time, she squinted at the caller-ID: it was Elijah. He could deal with whatever drama he was dealing with; right now, Aria needed her.

But the phone kept ringing even after she pressed ignore five times. "It's fine, answer it," said Aria, wiping at her eyes.

"It'll just be a sec," Eloise promised, finally answering the phone. "ELIJAH, what do you want?" she growled. "I'm busy!"

"Eloise, you need to come back here as fast as possible," he said. Eloise could tell something was very wrong; his voice sounded nervous and shaky.

"Elijah, what's wrong?"

"LISTEN TO ME. You need to get here as fast as you can. You are in danger. Do you hear me? Danger."

Eloise's mouth dropped open. "Eli, what's going on? You're scaring me."

Elijah let out a weak laugh. "_I'M _scaring _YOU?_ Eloise, something's happened. I've been keeping a secret from you. I have been getting messages from A for months."

Eloise gasped. It was loud and dramatic, but she couldn't help it. "You didn't tell me? Elijah, how could you keep a secret from me?"

He laughed again, but this time it was full of malice. "Oh, yes, pardon me for keeping a secret. It's very _rude_ of me to keep a secret. Only _you_ are aloud to keep secrets; the rest of us are FORBIDDEN from it."

"What are you talking abou-"

"When were you going to tell me about seeing Toby again?"

Eloise's blood went cold. "How did you find out about that?" Her hand flew to the hickey on her neck, as if he could see it through the phone.

"That's why I need you to come here. It's an emergency."

"EMERGENCY? Elijah, WHAT is going on? You tell me what's happening right now."

There was a crackling noise on the other end, and the squeak of a door. "SPENCER, I know who A is. It's-" Then, there was more crackling, thicker this time, and the line went dead.

_Holy shit,_ she thought. "Aria, can we use your dad's car? We have GOT to get to New York."

"Eloise, what's wrong? That phone call sounded intense."

"Elijah knows who A is, and I think A is there with him. He is in danger. We have to go."


	44. A Tragedy

**In response to an anonymous reviews, I'm sorry to say that it will be about 5 -10ish more chapters until Toby finds out about Eloise/Spencer. Sorry! But SPOILER- Hanna and Emily are going to find out VERY soon. **

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"Aria, hurry up!" cried Eloise as she darted up the stairs of Elijah's apartment building. Aria was trailing behind her as fast as she could, but she was in HEELS.

"Eloise, will you tell me what is going on?" she cried as she hurried to catch up. All that Eloise had told her was that Elijah knew who A was and that he was in trouble.

"I don't know, Aria, I told you! But we have got to hurry!" Aria nodded, breathing heavily. The elevators were out of order, and Elijah lived on the 22nd floor.

"Just go ahead," she wheezed. _Damn, I'm out of shape, _she thought. "I'll-" huff "meet-" puff "-you-" wheeze "up there."

Eloise nodded and dashed ahead. She had advanced two more floors in no time and was soon at Elijah's door. "ELIJAH!" she screamed, pounding her fist on the door. "ELIJAH, OPEN UP!"

She kept pounding, but he didn't answer. Remembering that there was a key hidden under the door mat, she bent down and grabbed the little metal piece, just where she had left it. She slid it in the lock, yanked open the door, and dashed inside. Within seconds, she collapsed on the floor and started screaming. Her purse flew onto the floor, it's contest spilling all over.

Wren was standing in front of her, his eyes glassy and his body stiff. She realized in a fraction of a second that he wasn't standing. He was taped up against the wall. His arms, legs, and torso were bound with duct tape to the cream wall.

The wall wasn't exactly cream. It had read spatters of blood dancing across it, all centering from the two bullet holes in Wren's chest. It was still fresh and dripping, making unnerving dripping noises as each drop hit the floor. Except for the red spots on his clothing, his body was pale and lifeless.

Upon hearing the screams, Aria dashed into the apartment and found Eloise on her knees, howling in pain. She gasped started dry-heaving, gagging horrifically at the sight of the corpse. Soon, she collapsed to the floor next to Eloise, her body weak like she might vomit.

It was only from that angle that the bloodied wall revealed a message. The wall had been bloodied very deliberately, and Aria could just make out letters in the sloppy, red letters:

**He already has enough blood on his hands. -A**

After a few minutes, Aria pressed her hands to the wall and gasped. _Pull your shit together, Aria,_ she told herself. _Something has to happen._ Thinking on her feet, she grabbed a rubber glove from a box next to the sink.

_I can't leave fingerprints,_ she thought as she slipped it on. She gingerly grabbed the land line in the apartment and dialed 9-1-1. As soon as she heard a canned voice say, "What is your emergency?" she hung up the phone.

She turned to Eloise, who was on her hands and knees screaming and moaning. She was gasping for air and staring at the floor, not believing. "Eloise, we have to get out of here," Aria declared. "The police are coming and we will have to explain something to them. We can be here."

Eloise looked up at her and nodded, but didn't make a move to get up. "_Eloise,"_ begged Aria, "We can't be here. We'll either have to explain, or look like suspects." She bent down and helped Eloise stand up.

Eloise grabbed onto Aria's tiny shoulders and stood up, shaking. Aria started to leave with her, but Eloise pulled back from her and ran toward's Wren's lifeless body. Without stepping in any blood or getting too close, she gingerly, tenderly kissed him on the lips, one final act of gratitude for the man who had saved her life.

She didn't hold on for even three seconds before she sprinted away from him and ran towards Aria. The two dashed down the stairs of the apartment building as fast as they could, tripping down stairs and getting quite banged up. As soon as the reached the front door, the dashed out and hid behind a dumpster in an alley next to the building.

The two sat there catching their breath for a few minutes, saying nothing, until the sound of sirens pulled them out of their trance. The two peeked out and saw two police cars and am ambulance parking on the street next to the building. Men in uniforms ran inside, shouting on walkie talkies.

Aria turned to Spencer and said nothing, only wrapped her arms around her best friend. Spencer shook with silent sobs as more police cars arrived, as police tape was put up, and as Wren's dead body was carried out in a body bag.

But Aria didn't let Spencer see any of it. She covered Spencer's eyes, shielding her from the hell that was happening around her, the hell that their lives had become.

* * *

**On a different note, HOW GOOD WAS LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE? **


	45. An Unmasking

**I've gotten some requests to post more than 1 chapter a day. I'd love to, but as I said before, I'm REALLY busy. I prewrite five chapters on the weekends so I can post every day. But here is the next chapter:**

* * *

"Heeeey," yelled Hanna as she strolled into the Montgomory house the following day. "Are we doing this?" The girls had all made plans to die the tips of Hanna's hair bright pink. She wanted to do something rebellious for he senior year.

"You didn't get my text?" asked Aria from her place on the couch. She was lying with her bback on one of the arms and Eloise lying on top of her. They had been sitting like that for HOURS.

Eloise had been inconsolable for the last 24 hours and had not stopped crying. Wren was gone, dead. Wren was lost. The person who had ruined his life to help her was dead.

And although Aria never mentioned it, the person who knew who A was had been murdered. She knew better than to bring up A to Eloise when she was so fragile, but this was a BIG DEAL. A murdered Wren. Wren lnew something he shouldn't, and now he was dead. That was scary.

The more Eloise thought about it, the more depressed she became. Wren kept trying to warn her, but she was too rapped up in her own life to notice him. She wanted to kick herself: he had ruined his life for her, working to find out who A was. Because of it, he was murdered, alone and scared without family or friends. She couldn't shake the feeling that everything was all her fault.

"What text?" asked Emily, walking in behind Hanna. "PLEASE don't bail on us AGAIN."

Aria and Eloise sat up, both stiff and groggy. "Go, Aria, have fun," said Eloise, sounding pathetic and miserable. "You deserve to have fun."

Hanna and Emily looked at each other, their eyes brows raised. "Everything okay?" asked Hanna, sounding more than a little bit annoyed.

"Eloise doesn't feel well," said Aria quickly before Eloise could start crying again. "Is it okay if we stay in here to keep her company?"

"But I thought we were going to dye my hair!" Hanna complained. She didn't mean to sound so whiney, but she hadn't spent any time with Aria in AGES. Eloise was taking over her life, and Hanna and Emily were often left alone. While the two had grown close, they missed Aria and worried about her constantly.

"Just for a little while," said Aria, standing up. "I promise. We can watch a movie. I'll go make some popcorn."

"That's cool," said Emily, flopping down on the couch next to Eloise. She didn't really want to, but she knew that she had to make peace with Aria. Hanna had been bitching about Eloise relentlessly, and she wanted the two of them to become friends. If Aria wanted to spend all her time with Eloise, than Emily would too. She wanted Aria back, no matter what it took.

Aria ran to the kitchen, and Hanna sat down on the couch next to Eloise. It was nervously silent for a moment before Emily grabbed the TV remote. "Let's find something to watch," she said brightly, hoping it would break the tension. She could see Hanna scowling and Eloise wiping her eyes with a tissue. She had no idea what was going on with Eloise, but it couldn't be good.

Emily pressed the power button on the remote, and National News roared to life. She was about to start flipping channels before she saw the headlining story, it's title scrawled at the bottom of the screen:

"Mysterious Murder in a NYC Apartment!"

"Yesterday, a body was found in and New York apartment building," cried a heavily made-up newscaster. "The victim had been renting the apartment and was found with two bullets in his chest. Sources confirm his identity as Elijah Williams, a British immigrant who came to the United States several months ago."

Emily and Hanna gasped at Eloise, who had tears streaming down her face. They had never met Elijah, but they knew his name. Horror and dread washed over the two of them at the realization. "Oh God," whispered Emily. "I am so, so sorry."

Eloise didn't look at them as Emily put a hand on her back. Her eyes were so filled with tears that she wouldn't even be able to see them. They were so filled with tears, in fact, that her contacts began to slip and slide. Eloise blinked once just as a tear slipped out, and her contact fell out with it.

_Shit,_ she thought as her eyes searched for the fallen contact. Her vision was blurry, though, so she had no idea where it had landed. She kept her gaze as far away from Emily as she could so that they wouldn't be able to see her brown eye. But at one point, she heard Emily and Hanna both scream, so she cast her eyes up towards them. She found them both staring in horror at the TV screen.

Wren's picture was there on the screen, his bright smile familiar to the three girls. "We are just getting word," declared the newscaster, "That Mr. Williams was actually Wren Kim, a doctor from Rosewood, Pennsylvania, who has been a missing person for months. He had illegally obtained the identity of the real Elijah Williams, who had died in a car crash several months prior."

Both Emily and Hanna stared at Eloise in shock and ignored Aria as she ran in the room, confused by the scream. Eloise stared back at them before she realized she wasn't wearing one contact and a brown eye was staring back at the girls. It was silent for a long few seconds while everyone stared at Eloise, not believing.

Suddenly, Emily licked her thumb and wiped it across Eloise's cheek. The concealer smeared right off, revealing the big, brown birthmark on Eloise's cheek. Hanna covered her hand with her mouth, and Emily made a small sound in the back of her throat

"Spencer?" Emily whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah," Eloise whispered back. "It's me, Spencer."


	46. A Grudge

"Han, Em, please say something," Spencer whispered. Her legs were shaking as she sat cross-legged on the floor of the Montgomory's home. Aria sat next to her, holding her hand as the two of them spilled the story to Emily and Hanna. The others were sitting on the other side of the room, crying silently while they listened. Spencer had finished explain five minutes at twenty nine seconds ago, but no one had said anything since.

"Just say something, please," she whimpered, tears dancing down her cheeks.

Hanna scooted closer to Spencer and reached out her arm. She gently touched Spencer's cheek, her fingers caressing the skin softly. Her hand moved down onto Eloise's shoulder and squeezed as if she was checking to make sure Spencer wasn't a ghost.

Eloise's heart slowed down as Hanna's hand caressed her arm, her collar bone, her legs. Hanna's face was even as she felt Spencer's body. Hanna's hand was cold and shaky, like an old woman's. Eloise couldn't help thinking that Hanna had grown so much, changed so much in the last few months. How would Hanna ever forgive her.

Suddenly, Hanna drew back her hand. Everyone stared at her for a moment before she let out a joyful wail and pounced on Spencer like a puppy. "Spencer!" she cried through her tears as she pinned Eloise's body to the ground. Hanna's body collapsed onto Spencer and she wrapped her arms around her friend. She was laughing and crying at the same time as she pulled Spencer into a hug. Spencer imagined that they looked like Simba and Nala reuniting in The Lion King, screaming and wrestling each other.

Aria started to laugh as Spencer and Hanna sat up, Hanna on Spencer lap. The two embraced tightly, laughing and crying and screaming at the same time. "Oh, God, Spencer," said Hanna through her happy sobs, "You have no idea how much I missed you. Oh my God, it's like everything is perfect again."

She pulled away and looked Spencer in the eye. "I've been dreaming about this for months," she declared, wiping her tears. "I knew you'd come back to me one day, I KNEW it. Oh God, Spence, I missed you so fucking much."

Spencer smiled and hugged Hanna tighter. "I missed you too, Han," she said, laughing. Aria scooted close to them, and the three embraced in a three girl hug. Aria thought of the day she had her first panic attack, in the Rosewood High bathroom on senior registration day. Hanna and Spencer came to her rescue, and she knew she could always depend on them. Things were starting to go back to normal, finally.

"How are you okay with this?" a deep, angry voice growled from the other side of the room. Aria, Hanna, and Spencer all looked up to see Emily with a fierce, angry expression on her face.

"HANNA," she hissed. "_Why_ are you okay with this?"

"Em," Hanna whispered, quickly dashing to Emily's side, "Spencer's back. She's BACK!"

"YOU LET US THINK YOU WERE DEAD!" Emily screamed, standing up and screaming like a bullet that had been fired. Spencer and Aria cowered back.

"SPENCER, how COULD you?" Emily wailed, tears spurting from her eyes. "Do you have any idea how much this hurt? How many hours I spent crying over you? How this RUINED my LIFE?"

"Emily, I'm sorry!" cried Spencer. "I want to tell you, but-"

"BUT WHAT, _ELOISE_?" Emily yelled, turning the fake name into a stinging insult. "BUT FUCKING WHAT? You let us think you were DEAD! Did you ever think how hard that would be on us? Your parents left town, Aria tried to fucking kill herself, Toby hasn't been seen in MONTHS, Hanna started making herself throw up again-"

"EM!" cried Hanna, tears running down her face. "You swore you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Emily continued as if she didn't even hear. "-And I drag a fucking razor blade across my arms every day. EVERY DAY. Did you ever think about US?" She pulled back her long sleeve to reveal lines of thin, silver scars on her otherwise perfect, dark colored skin. She thrusted it out angrily, evidence to her pain and suffering.

"Emily," said Spencer, standing up on unsteady legs, "I thought about you EVERY second since I left. I thought about ALL of you SO much, it hurt."

"Yeah, well, it hurt me too," said Emily, stone faced as she yanked up her sleeve. "It hurt me too." She turned out and started leave, pacing angrily towards the door.

"Emily, wait!" called Aria, running towards her. She grabbed Emily's wrist and said, "We all need to just calm down and talk about this."

"Why should I listen to you?" yelled Emily. "You kept this from me too, Aria. Why should I ever listen to you?"

"Because she is your friend," declared Spencer, following Aria towards a furious Emily. "You can't be upset. This is supposed to be a HAPPY moment. Why can't you understand that-"

She was cut off by the sharp, smacking sound of Emily's hand on her cheek. It was dead silent as Spencer reflexively stepped back and touched the red welt forming on her face, the shame stinging worse than the pain. Everyone gasped, even Emily, surprised by her own actions.

She removed her shaking hand from it's hovering spot in midair and dashed out the door. Hanna's eyes darted between Spencer's quivering lip and Emily's still body through the window. "It's fine, Hanna," said Spencer, her voice choked up with tears. "Follow her."

"But..." Hanna whispered, "If I walk out that door, I might never see you again." Tears spilled onto her cheeks as she spoke. "I can't lose you again."

"I'm not going anywhere," promised Spencer. "I will never leave you again."

Hanna nodded and dashed out the door towards Emily, while Spencer collapsed, sobbing, into Aria's arms.


	47. A Close Call

"Emily!" cried Hanna as she dashed out the door after her friend. "Wait! Please"

"WHAT?" yelled Emily, tears falling in zig zags down her cheeks.

Hanna grabbed Emily's wrists and said, "Slow down and take a breath for a minute. We need to talk about what just happened."

Emily's voice was thick as she spoke. "Hanna, what is there even to say? They were both lying to us. They didn't CARE that we were hurting. They DIDN'T care."

"Of COURSE they cared, Emily! Didn't you listen to Spencer? She said she went to bed crying every night for WEEKS-"

"OH YEAH?" Emily exploded. "How is that any more important than MY pain? She got OVER it, she got to live her old life again, BUT I WAS STILL HURTING!" She yanked her arm away angrily and dug in her purse for her car keys.

"And we need to talk about that too," declared Hanna, her voice shaking. "When did you. . . start cutting again?"

Emily's eyes flashed an angry grey color. "That's none of your business," she mumbled, yanking her sleeves down as far as they could go.

"Like hell it isn't," said Hanna stiffly as she thrust her weight onto the car door so Emily couldn't open it. She lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "I thought you said you stopped. When did you start again?"

Emily sniffled and didn't look Hanna in the eye. "When we found out about CeCe," she said softly. "I didn't want to, but. . . Hanna, I just need it." She angrily walked around the car so that she was on the street. She started to cross, but her legs were weak. Her body shook slightly, and her legs collapsed under her.

Hanna ran to Emily and wrapped her arms around her. The two sat there in the center of the street for a few long minutes while Hanna whispered and rubbed her friend's back. Emily pulled away at first, but eventually leaned into the contact. Neither of them said a word, just sat their in the center lane, crying.

Suddenly, a bright light shined from down the street. Hanna squinted forward and saw a car approaching, speeding at them like a bullet. "Shit," she whispered and stood up, her body jerking.

"Em, come on," she said, trying to pick up Emily. But Emily didn't move. Her legs felt like jello and they wouldn't cooperate.

Emily's brain and heart were in a tug of war. _Move,_ cried her brain. _Get out of the way. You're in danger._

But her heart said,_ what's the point anymore? Why bother going on if there is going to be so much pain? Just end it all._

"EMILY!" screamed Hanna, trying to yank Emily out of the way. But Emily's body felt numb, like she was frozen in a block of ice. She couldn't figure out what to do.

The car didn't slow at all, speeding towards them with no indication of moving out of the way. Hanna screamed and waved her arms around, but the car didn't hesitate. She had no idea what to do.

In a few seconds, she made her decision. She didn't make it consciously, but her heart took over. She fell to the ground and wrapped her arms around a shaking Emily, thinking to herself, _I will not let Emily go alone. I will be with her, every step of the way. She's been there for me, and I'll be here for her._

_ And I can't live without her._

Hanna screamed and waited for death to come, her eyes clenched shut. She waited for the slam, but it never hit her. She heard a loud, squealing noise next to her and felt the heat of a car engine, but no slam. Her eyes flashed open to see the car stopped not a foot from her.

Her mouth gaped open as she heard the sounds of car doors opening. Malicious laughter filled the air, very familiar laughter. Hanna peered around, trying to see who was exiting the car.

"That was PRICELESS, Noel," cackled a very familiar voice. The click of high heels danced across pavement.

"I thought so, too," Noel's familiar, arrogant voice said as he swooped around the front of the car. He walked right past Emily and Hanna to Jenna, pulling her in for a passionate kiss.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK," Hanna growled as she stood up angrily. Jenna and Noel didn't notice her and continued to kiss, leaning against the hood of the car.

She marched right up to them and pushed them apart. "You HEARD me," she barked. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?"

Jenna smirked at her. "We saw you and Emily on the road and thought we'd have a little fun," she said, nodding to the ground where Emily was still sitting, paralyzed with fear.

"What is WRONG with you?" Hanna cried. "You could have killed BOTH of us."

"_Relax,_ Marin," said Noel, flashing Hanna a cocky smile. "We probably would have gotten a Rosewood Medal of Honor for doing a service to the community."

Hanna's jaw dropped, but before she had a chance to react, a fist came flying out of nowhere and hit Noel in the jaw. He reeled back and collapsed into Jenna's arms. _W__uss. _

Hanna spun around to see who had delivered the punch, and she saw tall, blonde girl, partially cloaked by shadows. _Ali? _she thought for a second. But the girl stepped forward, and it was just CeCe.

CeCe cast a wary glance at Jenna as she comforted Noel and examined his jaw. Then, she turned to Hanna and said, "Let's get out of here." She stepped over to Emily, graceful and poised, and pulled the shaking girl to her feet.

"But you. . . " Hanna started.

"What?" snapped CeCe. "Just because Ali was my sister doesn't mean you guys can't hang out with me anymore. Actually. . ." Her tone of voice softened as she looked Hanna in the eye. "I really want to be with you _more_ now. I want to get to know you the way Ali did."

Hanna thought for a moment about it: was she actually going to trust CeCe? BEFRIEND CeCe? But the more Hanna thought about it, the more it made sense. CeCe was a good person, and she DID just punch the shit out of Noel. Like it or not, CeCe CARED about them.

Hanna nodded and the two helped Emily over to CeCe's car. Hanna was too busy helping Emily into the backseat to notice CeCe glancing back at Jenna wearily. And Hanna didn't notice the angry glare that passed between the two girls, a glare built up over years of anger and hatred.


	48. A Growing Friendship

**In response to a request from Chosen One to write about Toby finding out about Spencer, I will say that it will be about 5 more chapters before he finds out. I have th rest of the story outlined and partially prewritten in parts. Any requests for my next story? I'm trying to outline another idea for a multi chapter one. **

* * *

"Well, here we are," said CeCe as she unlocked the door to her house. Emily and Hanna walked in cautiously, gazing around at the funky, hip room. CeCe's main room was eclectic, cluttered, and one of a kind, filled will new furniture, modern art, and fresh flowers. But it also screamed REAL, like someone actually lived there.

Emily couldn't help think that it was the kind of place Ali would love.

"I'm going to go upstairs and grab some blankets," CeCe said, giving Hanna's hand a squeeze. "The couch should be big enough to fit the both of you."

"Thanks for letting us stay here," said Hanna warily. She knew she couldn't take Emily home or back to her own house, but she knew there was no way Emily would spend the night at Aria's.

Emily sat down on the couch and didn't say a word. She hadn't spoken since before Noel and Jenna almost killed her, and it was tearing Hanna up inside.

"Em? Can we talk about this?" said Hanna tenderly, placing a hand on Emily's shoulder. Emily didn't respond, staring straight ahead of her.

Hanna sucked in her breath, her stomach twisting. "I'll be right back, okay? I'm just going to go find the bathroom." Emily didn't even move, so Hanna sighed and stalked down the hall.

She found the bathroom easily and closed the door. She knelt on the ground in front of the toilet and breathed heavily. _Don't do it,_ she told herself. _You're stronger than that. _

But even as she told herself, she couldn't believe it. She plunged two fingers down her throat, and within seconds she was heaving into the toilet. It felt shameful and wrong, but so, so right.

When she finished, she felt a hand on her back. "Shhhh, it's okay," some one whispered as the person knelt down and embraced her. Hanna began to cry into Emily's arms. She had swore to herself that she wouldn't keep doing this, but it felt like the only way to get rid of the pain.

She closed her eyes as two arms reached around her torso, and Hanna grabbed onto them. But when she looked down at the arms, she realized that they were pale, not dark. It definitely wasn't Emily behind her.

"It's okay, Hanna," CeCe cooed gently. "Everything will be alright. Han, I'm here for you."

Hanna shook her head forcefully. "No, everything won't be alright!" she whimpered. "Spencer. . ."

"What about Spencer?" said CeCe tenderly, rocking back and forth with Hanna in her arms.

Hanna didn't respond, unsure of what to say. "Hanna, Spencer's gone," CeCe said as if she was explaining to a kindergardener. "I know you miss her, but she's gone. But that's okay. I'm here, and I won't let anything hurt you."

CeCe's words echoed in Hanna's mind: "It's okay, I'm here for you, I won't let anything hurt you." No one had said those things to Hanna for a long time. She had been taking care of Aria and Emily, throwing out their razor blades, putting locks on their pill cabinets, and holding them while they cried for hours on end. It made her feel so safe and loved to be taken care of for once.

That was what made her blurt it out: "Spencer's not gone. She's still alive."

CeCe gasped, and Hanna began to spill the whole story. She listened patiently while Hanna cried and choked through everything Spencer and Aria told her, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Hanna," CeCe said when Hanna finished, "I won't tell, I promise."

Hanna nodded and whispered, "I missed her so much. But I get why Emily is so pissed. I don't know what to do from here."

"Get some sleep," CeCe said tenderly. "We can talk about it tomorrow, okay?" Hanna nodded, and CeCe helped her stand up. The two walked gingerly to the living room where Emily was already asleep on the couch, shivering slightly.

CeCe helped Hanna get settled and threw a blanket over Emily. "Go to sleep, Han," CeCe said. "You need to let your brain rest."

Hanna nodded and sniffled, but suddenly something occurred to her. "Will you parents be pissed when they find me and Emily here?"

CeCe stiffened and shook her head. "My parents don't live with me," she said angrily.

"Oh, I thought they lived her in Rosewood."

"They did, but they, uh, died a few year ago."

"Oh, God, CeCe," whispered Hanna. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"It's cool," CeCe responded. "How could you know? Just go to sleep. I'll be upstairs if you need anything."

With that, CeCe walked briskly upstairs and left Hanna to get lost in her dreams. As soon as she reached her bedroom, she slammed the door and started hyperventilating. She collapsed on her bed and screamed into her pillow, unable to believe what Hanna told her.

Spencer was alive. Spencer was Eloise. And if that was true, than everything was not what she thought.

Her hands shaking, she grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and pressed speed dial #2, out ranked only by her voicemail. It rang for a few seconds before a familiar voice answered. CeCe cleared her throat and choked out, "We have a problem."


	49. A Rebound

"I can't believe it," Eloise whispered into her coffee. "I can't believe neither of them will call me back."

"Calm down," Aria said, shrugging as she spun a stirring stick around in her coffee. The two were sitting in the Brew, pondering the big fight the night before over some hot piping stimulants. "They are probably both just shocked. Give them some time to calm down. They just need to figure out what they are feeling. I definitely did."

"I know," said Eloise, "But I really just need to hear their voices."

"Hey," whispered Aria. "It'll be okay. We are going to figure everything out."

_HOW?_ Eloise wanted to scream. Wren was dead, Emily and Hanna were beyond pissed at her, and CeCe was Ali's big sister.

"This is all just so unbelievable," Eloise groaned, burying her face in her hands.

Aria rubbed Eloise's back and said, "Are you thinking more about CeCe?"

"How can I not?" said Eloise, leaning into Aria. "She is Ali's older sister! There is something going on here that we don't know about."

Aria clicked her tongue softly and said, "Maybe it is what it is: a horribly shitty coincidence. She's taking it really well, and she's being so nice to me. Hanna and Emily, too."

Eloise looked up at Aria, surprised. "They said that?"

Aria nodded. "Emily told me that ever since CeCe found out she's Ali's sister, she's been like their bet friend. Almost like a replacement Ali."

"Replacement Ali?" said Eloise sarcastically. "How could anyone ever replace Ali? I feel like she's up to something."

"Eloise, she's just being nice! Not everything is some terrible scheme. Why can't you see it? Eloise? El? You okay?"

Eloise had stopped responding. Her face was stiff, pale, and grey like a gargoyle. Her vision focused on someone picking up four extra-large coffees, much large than any one person could drink, even coffeeholics like Eloise. She was pretty sure she recognized the boy solely on his trademark black curls, but when he turned around revealing his soft, baby face, she was positive she knew him.

It was Lucas.

She hadn't seen him since Toby revealed that he was on the A team, and it scared the life out of her. He could be planning something right now. He could have killed Wren.

He could have killed Wren.

Eloise's stomach twisted in knots when that crossed her mind. Sweet, innocent Lucas might have tied up Wren and fired bullets into his chest. And sweet, innocent Lucas was leaving the Brew before she got a chance to think about it twice.

As soon as he walked out, balancing a cup holder with his three travel containers of java, Eloise snapped back to life. "Come with me," she said, jumping up from her seat. She grabbed Aria by the wrist and yanked her out the door of the Brew, following Lucas from a good thirty or forty paces behind.

"Eloise, what the hell are we doing?"

"Shhh. Keep your voice down. We're following Lucas."

"WHY are we following Lucas?"

"Because I want to see where he's going." And who that coffee was going to. Lucas didn't have many, or really any, friends that Eloise knew about, except for the people on the A Team. What if they sent Lucas on a coffee run? What if he was heading to them now?

"Who cares where he's going? Eloise, why-"

Suddenly, a large group of people got of at a bus stop. Between yanking Aria down the street and the busy intersection, she lost Lucas in the crowd."Goddammit! I lost him. We're checking all the alleyways, now."

"Eloise, what the hell is going on?"

"Aria, you just need to trust me. I'll check that side of the street, you check this one. If you find him, text me?"

"Why? Eloise, I don't understand-"

"GODDAMMIT, ARIA! JUST DO IT!" Aria's mouth gaped open. Eloise, realizing what she had just done, said, "Please, Aria, I will explain everything later, I swear. Just please do it." With that, Eloise sprinted over to a crosswalk and crossed the street without looking back.

Aria groaned softly and began to check each ally. She saw garbage cans, stray cats, and some old newspapers, but no Lucas. After the first five or six allys, she was ready to tell Eloise that she was insane. That was until, however, she heard someone giggling a few allys down, and Aria trailed after and peeked in the alley. She peered into the alley and nearly screamed at what she saw.

Holden. He was smiling as he pressed his body into a pretty girl with long, blonde hair. He was pressing his lips into hers, and his hands were moving along her body like they had felt it a thousand times before. The girl ran her hands through his curly brown hair like it belonged to her, like Holden was her property. The girl tilted her head just so and her face was revealed to Aria.

It was CeCe. Holden was kissing CeCe. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched them kiss with more passion than she had Holden ever had. She listened as CeCe moaned dramatically and pulled away. "DAMN, Holden," she said coyly. "You're a such a. . . a. . . "

"A what?" he asked, smiling at her.

"A SEXY BEAST!"

Aria stopped breathing for a moment before she sprinted away, not looking back. But Aria should have looked back. She should have listened.

"I thought you hated my screen name," said Holden, running his fingers through her long, blonde hair.

"It's fitting," she giggled, kissing him gently on the lips.

"So is yours," Holden moaned. "You are just about excellent at hugs and kisses."

But Aria didn't hear any of that. She was already running as far away as she could.

But she should have watched the two kiss for a few moments longer, watching how CeCe rolled her eyes with irritation whenever Holden wasn't looking. She should have watched Lucas casually stroll into the alley. And she should have watched the two of them stop kissing long enough to watch them each take a cup of coffee from Lucas and take sips of the scalding, bitter liquid.

* * *

**DAMN. Yeah, that happened! Now that the entire A-Team has been revealed, this is the last major turning point of the story as far as my mental plan goes. I really don't want this being 100 chapters long, so it will wrap up in about 10 more or so. Unless you want more than that? **

**In those last chapters, the most important moments will occur. Toby will find out that Spencer is still alive, the motives of the A team will be revealed, and Ali's murderer will be discovered. The story ends in a multi-chapter climax that will take me a long time to write, so updates are going to be sloooowww.**

**Unless, do you want me to drag this story out longer? I was planning to make another story with a whole new plot, but I am just so emotionally attached to this one :)**

**Let me know, and thank you so much for reading and reviewing!**

**-A girl with fast typing skills **


	50. A Fight

**I wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews I have received, especially MyQueenTroian, Runawaybaby555, WTRGAL01, and Sgdp1262. There is nothing I love more than reading reviews and it really motivates me.**

**The last section of this story all takes place on one night. It is a LONG, long night though, so be ready for some bulk.**

* * *

"Aria, you're being ridiculous," said Eloise as she yanked the blanket off at Aria. Aria glared at her and buried her face in her pillow.

"I TOLD you, I'm sick," she moaned. It was part true- Aria had a killer headache- but that wasn't the only reason she didn't want to leave the house.

"No, you're not," Eloise said, feeling Aria's forehead. "You have been acting weird since we went searching for Lucas yesterday. And I know you're not sick."

"Maybe my schizophrenia is acting up."

Eloise rolled her eyes. "Aria, you and I both know that you don't have schizophrenia. Now tell me why the hell you don't want to go tonight." Cece wanted to hang out with Aria tonight, claiming that she had something big to talk to her about. She said it had to do with Ali, and it was killed Eloise with curiosity.

"Um, because it's WEIRD. Why does she want to hang out with me, or Hanna or Emily? We're in high school, and she needs to move on with her life. WE need to move on with life."

"But..." Eloise stuttered. "Don't you want to know the truth?"

Aria rolled over and shook her head. "I just want everything to go away. Now can you please leave and shut off the light? My head kills."

Eloise frowned and said, "Aria, you NEED to go tonight. For Wren, remember? We need to figure out what happened to Ali, or he died for nothing. And I can't let that happen."

"Why can't you just ask Emily or Hanna?"

"Because they don't know what you know! They wouldn't know what's important to tell me why you don't want to go!" Aria didn't respond. "And beside, they wouldn't talk to me anyways. You know that, Aria. They haven't been returning my calls" Aria said nothing, just moaned and buried her face deeper into her pillow.

Elosie didn't know what to do. She and Aria hadn't heard from Emily or Hanna since the walked out two nights ago, and she was getting concerned. She had no idea where they went, and it was driving her insane. She needed Aria to go tonight, to get information, but she was refusing to move.

"Aria, if you don't get out of bed, I am going to call _Toby_ and have him _DRAG_ you out."

It was silent for a for a few seconds as Eloise realized what she said and Aria processed the information. "WHO is going to drag me out of bed?"

Eloise covered her face with her hands and moaned softly. "ELOISE, WHO IS GOING TO DRAG ME OUT OF BED?"

Eloise didn't respond for a second. _My big mouth,_ she thought, _is going to ruin my life. _But suddenly she snapped up, faced Aria, and said, "Here's the deal. You are going to go tonight, and when you get back, we are going to trade stories. You'll tell me what's bugging you, and what happens with CeCe tonight. In return, I'll tell you-"

"Have you been in contact with him?"

"I told you, go tonight and maybe I'll-"

"You'll WHAT? You'll trade secrets with me like they're baseball cards? Who the fuck do you think I am?"

Eloise already began to regret the words that had spilled out of her mouth. "Aria, we need to find out what-"

Aria's head felt like it was being pounded by a thousand jack hammers as the words left her mouth. "EXACTLY. _WE_ need to figure this out. We are in this together! Why would you keep that from me? Do you not trust me? Do you not think I could HANDLE it?"

"Aria, of course not! I just-"

"NO, Spencer. You just NOTHING! I am not playing this game with you. I have been completely chill about you going in hiding for half a year to get your shit together-"

"YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS ABOUT ME? GODDAMMIT, ARIA, I WAS PROTECTING ALL OF US!"

"BY HIDING EVERYTHING? Spencer, we are both in this together."

"Aria, I'm NOT Spencer anymore. Spencer is GONE."

"No, she isn't! No matter what you call yourself, or how you change the way you look, you are still Spencer down there, still looking for answers. Still keeping secrets, just like you used to. Still never being honest. Still a scheming, manipulative, lying, BITCH."

Aria heard the words leaving her mouth before they hit her brain. She saw Eloise's face become consumed with hurt, not rage. Eloise's eyes filled with tears as she spun around and ran as out of the house as quickly as she could. She was running so fast, in fact, that she didn't hear the loud thump when Aria's body hit the floor of her bedroom, nor did she hear the floorboards squeaking as Aria's body began to shake completely out of her control as her mind slipped away into another seizure.


	51. A QUICK REQUEST

**Hey, so here is the deal. I have rough-written the rest of the story and an epilogue so I can start planning my next one. The chapters to finish this one are not ready to post and need some work, but they cover the main plot.**

**The reason I have kicked my ass getting these written is that I want to begin plotting another story. I like to have some of the plot down on paper before I launch into writing so I have direction and focus. I have four different plots that I am toying with, and I can't decide which one I want to do next. **

**If you want to give your opinion, leave a review of this chapter and I will PM the titles and summaries of the four stories to you. I want to know which story you would be most interested in reading and which you think has the most potential.**

**Thanks for your input!**

**-Some one who really should be studying for semester exams right now...**

**PS. In addition, I have some ideas for some good one-shot or shorter stories, lasting only a few chapters. I might take a brake from regular story writing to add those.**


	52. A Soulmate

**So, this is my absolute favorite chapter of the whole story. I hope I did it justice.**

* * *

"Hey, hey, it's okay," whispered Toby as he stroked Eloise's back. She had come straight to Toby's motel room downtown after her big fight with Aria. She texted him, saying that she needed to escape for a little while, and he welcomed her gladly saying that he loved having her around. She was afraid that opinion might have changed when she barged into his room with tears streaming down her face and no explanation.

"No, it's not okay," she whined softly in return. She had been sitting on the edge of the motel bed next to Toby for a few minutes, and his presence was the only thing in her life that seemed to calm her. "Everything is far from okay."

"What can I do to help?" he asked, gently whispering as he kissed her ear.

"Nothing. There is nothing you can do. My friends all hate me, my family is gone, and my life is complete and utter hell. I just wish I could. . . ."

"You could what? If you could do anything or have anything, what would it be?"

Eloise hesitated for a moment before she started talking. "I would go back in time. I would change every goddam decision I've made in the last few years." She rested her head on Toby's chest, trying not to start full-on sobbing.

Toby sighed. "Regret. I know what that's like, believe me. I regret everything I've done, the person I've become, every choice I've ever made, it feels like. I think there's only one thing that I don't regret?"

Eloise sniffled. "Yeah? What's that?"

"Hiding in that closet in the Grille. Because if I wasn't spying on some one that day. . . I would have never met you." Eloise blushed and looked Toby in the eye before he started to continue. "Eloise, you are the only person who has understood me since. . . "

"Since she died?"

"Spencer. Her name was Spencer." Eloise saw Toby begin to tear up when he said it. "I thought that when she died, I'd never be able to be happy again, or move past it. I felt like the world around me was fake. But being with you, I feel. . . alive again. Like I've finally met someone real."

_Ironic_, thought Eloise mournfully._ I am the furthest thing from real_. But it didn't stop the words coming out of her mouth: "I feel the exact same way."

Toby smiled at her and pulled her close. Her grinned as he leaned in and and kissed her. She kissed him back, but after a moment, she began to unbutton his shirt

He stopped for a moment and said, "Do you want to. . .?" He didn't finish the question, but he didn't have to. Eloise nodded, and kept unbuttoning. She knew it was too fast for Eloise, but Aria was right: somewhere, deep down, Spencer was still there. And Spencer loved Toby. Spencer had thought about Toby nonstop for months, and he was finally here, right in front of her.

Toby gently pulled Eloise's soft t-shirt of her head, revealing her lacy white bra. He gently moved his hand over her bare skin and unclipped it, feeling her naked body.

_His fingers danced over the freckles and birthmarks that speckled across her torso. His touched everyone one, from her stomach to her shoulders to chest. She had always been self conscious about them, hating to wear bikini's and crop tops because of the ugly brown dots. But she didn't feel this way with him. She felt like he was canvasing every inch of her, protecting her._

Eloise closed her eyes, losing every sense but her sense of touch. Electric shocks danced through her with every moment Toby's fingers grazed her bare chest. She was so attune to the movement of Toby's fingers that her eyes shot open in surprise when only his pointer finger remained, stiff and frozen on a point just above where her rib cage ended.

Eloise looked down to the point he was touching. His finger was stiffly focused on a small brown spot, the size of a dime with the color of a dirty penny.

His finger was stuck on one of her many birthmarks that littered her body. The particular spot that Toby was touching was so close to her breasts that no one other than him had seen it before, and she was sure that he recognized it.

After a long second, his finger started to shake, and he drew it back as if the spot had shocked him. He clearly remembered that spot, that unique spot that NOBODY else in the world had. He leaped off the bed and waked backwards until he hit the wall of the room. Eloise watched his fingers shake, then his hand, then his arm, and then eventually his whole body. His jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes bugged out. He was breathing so hard and fast that he could barely choke out the words:

"Spencer? Are you Spencer?"

Eloise yanked her t-shirt back over her head and slipped her sneakers on as fast as she could. She started to run for the door, but Toby was bigger and faster. He wedged his body between her and the exit, and he grabbed her shoulders with his hands. He seemed to be sizing her up, rapidly casting his eyes over every part of her body. "You heard me," he whispered, fury in voice. After a moment of silence and stillness, he screamed at her.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" His grip tightened on her shoulders and fury consumed his face. Eloise had never, ever seen that face before. That hard face, that face full of anger and fear, was what finally made her talk.

"It's me," Eloise whispered. "It's me, Toby. I'm Spencer." Those words broken the Berlin wall that had formed between Eloise and the rest of the world. Toby loosened his grip on her, and his arms fell limply to his side. His whole body relaxed, as if a giant weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. He stared at Eloise's face for a moment, not believing for the smallest fraction of a second.

Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, as if he didn't believe she was really there and needed to feel her. Eloise could feel his body shaking and convulsing with sobs, big, heavy sobs. _No_, she thought. _This is not happening. This is not real._

_Toby Cavanaugh does not cry_.

But he did. He sobbed hysterically as he pulled Spencer close, squeezing her tighter and tighter until she felt as if she might collapse. But she didn't care. All she cared about was the words that he cried out between gasping breaths:

"Spencer, I am so, so sorry. Forgive me. I love you."


	53. A Misguided Faith

The wind whipped Emily's hair around violently as she stepped out of her car. She pulled her coat closer to ask she jogged across Spencer's back yard to reach the barn, the designated meeting place for the night. Hanna and CeCe were already there, chattering as they leaned against the barn doors.

"And have I told you how much I love your highlights, Han? They make you look like you just stepped off a beach in Aruba."

Hanna beamed in response, and Emily hid a smile. CeCe had been going on and on about how beautiful Hanna was, how smart, how cool. Emily knew that Hanna had been dying to hear it for the last few months. She also knew that Alison was the cause of a lot of Hanna's self esteem issues, and it was really giving her a confidence boost to have Ali's doppelgänger showering her with compliments.

"Em, I am SO glad you decided to come. We are going to have a great time tonight."

Even with skin so dark, Hanna noticed Emily blushing deep pink. Hanna inwardly chuckled. She knew that Ali was Emily's first love, and no matter how secure she was with Paige, Hanna was positive that having Ali's clone around again made her feel at peace. Even though Hanna was positive that CeCe didn't have feelings for Emily "like that," it was nice seeing her friend so happy.

CeCe had wanted the girls to hang out that night, to get to know each other better. She had kept the two of them locked in her house for the last day letting them get over their emotions, and she said that she had planned a night of partying for the two of them tonight.

It was weird, though, because she was very strict about not letting them leave. "You need a vacation," she claimed, "From all of that stress and craziness." She would have her boy friend, some mystery guy who called her cell a lot, bring over food so she didn't have to leave either. The whole thing was pretty sketchy, but Hanna and Emily went along with it because CeCe was right: the DID need a vacation.

CeCe fished her cell phone out of her oversized Chanel tote. "Do you think I should call Aria and Spencer? I feel like we should be with them too."

Emily gulped and said, "We don't really need them, do we? We'll be fine."

CeCe shrugged. "I know, but I feel like we should all be together, make it more special. I want to get to know them, too."

"Wait," said Hanna, scrolling through her phone. "She texted me a while ago and said she's sick."

CeCe raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you weren't respond to her texts."

"Yeah, but I still read them. She says she sick in bed and really wants me and Emily to come over."

CeCe cocked her head, considering. "How about I give her a call? Maybe if she talks to me it would be better."

She brought her phone to her ear as she jogged away behind the barn. "Better reception back there towards the DiLaurentis house," she said with smile. "I used to hang their with Ali when we were kids." The last thing they heard was CeCe saying into the phone with a bright voice, "Hi, sweetie, how are you?"

Emily and Hanna turned to each other, smiling shyly. "Okay," Hanna said. "I'm just going to come out and say it. This is . . . amazing."

Emily laughed. "You're right. It's kind of a miracle."

"Kind of? Em, it is DEFINITELY a miracle. CeCe is basically Ali, but better. It feels like everything is finally falling into place."

"Not everything," whispered Emily mournfully.

"Why not?"

"Not everyone got that miracle happy ending." An owl hooted in the distance. "I mean, if Ali can come back from the dead. . ."

"Em, CeCe isn't Ali. I mean, they're sisters, and they are so much alike, but CeCe will NEVER be Ali."

"I know, but it's like CeCe filled the void. And if Alison can come back, then why can't. . . ."

"Why can't Maya?"

"Everything is almost perfect now, except for that. It feels like my life is finally the way it's supposed to be, but I still miss her." Emily sniffled sadly. "I just want to hope, you know? What wrong with hoping?"

"But she's. . . dead. She's dead, Emily. She can't come back."

Emily's voice was soft and sad as she whispered the one fact that Hanna was avoiding. "Spencer did."

Before Hanna could respond, they both heard a twig snap. Their heads swiveled in the direction of the sound, the woods behind the barn.

"CeCe?" called Hanna. She might have cut through the woods to come back; it was faster, albeit darker and scarier. A figure appeared coming through the trees. Whoever it was had the same height and built as CeCe, but her clothing was much darker. The person wore black pants and a black hoodie, and her face wasn't visible under the dark shadow of the hood.

"CeCe, is that you?" called Emily as the figure came closer. Whoever it was didn't respond, but they broke into a jog coming towards Emily and Hanna. Their faces conveyed their puzzlement but not a hint of fear as the figure approach and grabbed something out of a large bag. It was so dark in the woods that neither girl was able to see it was an oversized designer tote bag. A Chanel tote bag.

Their eyes widened as the figure broke into a sprint. "CeCe!" screamed Hanna as the figure approach. Soon, the person was thirty paces, twenty, ten paces away. At that point, both girls could see the object the person was holding: a taser.

Neither girl screamed as the electricity shot through their body, only moaned in agony. They both hit the floor, their muscles spasming, mud splattering on their coats. Neither girl was able to stay conscious for more than a few seconds after the thousands of volts surged through their bodies, and neither was aware that CeCe was pulling more things out of her tote. Neither was aware of her binding their hands with rope, their mouths with duct tape. And neither was aware of a tiny girl with eyes the color of honey darting out of the woods next to a boy with dark, messy curls and a baby face to help CeCe lift the limp bodies and take them where no one would ever see them again.


	54. A Mistake

**Wow. This story just hit over 100 reviews. I can not believe how much positive feedback I have received. Thank you so much to kellneriner, Ayoungnovelist, David Fishwick, Runawaybaby555, My Queen Troian, WTRGAL01, Sgdp1261, Britrocs, chiruri chikorate, and assorted anonymous reviewers for you support. It means so much to me. **

**Unfortunately, this story is winding down to a close in about 9 chapters, so I am still looking to beginning another story. I've narrowed it down to 3 different ideas, and my offer still stands to anyone who wants to take a look at the summaries. My goal is to start it as soon as possible so I can still keep updating constantly. **

* * *

"She's sick? Are you sure?" Holden glanced in the direction of Aria's house. He set his hand on the steering wheel of his car as he listened to her voice on the other end.

"That's what they said, Holden. Listen, Mona and Lucas just got here. This is not going to affect our plans. We are going to go knock Emily and Hanna out, and we will meet you where we agreed upon."

"And what do you want me to do about Aria?"

"You have the second taser, don't you?"

Holden glanced nervously towards the passenger seat of his car where the weapon was sitting. He still didn't feel comfortable holding onto it; it made him feel like he was too powerful for his own good. "Yeah, I have it."

"Then just go in there, knock her out, and bring her to your car."

"I can't do that!"

"Why not? She can't weigh THAT much."

"It's not that, it's just. . . "

"Just WHAT, Holden? I have been waiting for YEARS for everything to happen. It has to go down tonight. Spencer's is alive, so we can't wait much longer. Do you understand me?"

"What if Spencer is in there with her?"

"Then knock her out, too! That's the plan, you dork. Take them all down tonight, and if we can't get Spencer, we will go after her another time. OR she'll come after us."

"Wait, Spencer's leaving. She just hopped into a car."

"Then what are you waiting for? Text me when you have Aria in your car."

"Okay. Love you."

"See you soon, Holden." _See you soon_, thought Holden. _I say that I love her, and she says she'll see me soon_. On some subconscious level, Holden thought that maybe if this time he did everything that she asked, no matter how painful, she would love him back. That was what fueled him to grab the taser, shove it in his pocket, and jog up to Aria's front door. It was unlocked, so he let himself in.

The first thing he heard was the sound of floor boards squeaking. "Aria?" he called softly up the stairs. He could pretend that he had come to apologize. That would explain him being there. But she didn't respond. The only sound in the house was the floorboards squeaking like mad.

Holden strolled up the stairs and headed towards Aria's bedroom. The squeaking got louder as he got closer and closer. What the hell? It was definitely coming from Aria's bedroom. He called her name again, louder, and knocked on her door. There was no response, but he could hear something smacking wood.

Curious, Holden opened the door and found Aria lying on her bedroom floor. Her body was shaking and her arms and legs were spasming in every direction, smacking against the floor, her bed, her nightstand.

Holden was in shock. In seconds, he realized that she was having a seizure. He knelt down next to her and tried to hold her still as he screamed her name, but nothing was working. It was if she was possessed by a demon. She had described what seizures were like for her: blackness, dizziness, seeing stripes and spots in front of her eyes. He felt like there was nothing he could do but watch her suffer.

As much as he wanted to deny it, he still loved her. Her was furious that she had dumped him, and he had a deep, passionate, burning crush on CeCe, but she would always be his first love. His mother once told him that he could never forget a first love, and it was true. It killed him to watch her, unconscious and spasming, totally without control.

Suddenly, he remember the rope he had tied around his ankle. He was instructed to tie it around her hands after he knocked her out, just in case she woke up; maybe actually doing it would help her, not just hurt. Her arms were jerking around so much that he was afraid she might hurt herself. He hastily started untying the rope from his ankle in a hurry.

He was in such a hurry, in fact, that the taser slipped from his pocket and skidded across the floor. He reached for it, but he wasn't able to get a good grip on it and only smacked it. He smacked it in just the wrong place and the taser sizzled to life just as it grazed Aria's torso. A thick hissing sound came from the tiny machine, and sparks flew as it jabbed into Aria's body. Her body suddenly stopped jolting, but stood stiff for a moment before going limp.

Holden gasped. "Aria?" he whimpered. But she didn't respond, didn't show any sign of consciousness. "Aria?" he said again, louder. Her body was lifeless and didn't respond when he shook her slightly. "FUCK!"

Holden screamed, cursing and crying. He grabbed Aria's shoulders howled. "ARIA, ARIA!" But she didn't respond.

Holden screamed her name, but her eyes remained closed and her body remained limp. After minutes of yelling loud enough to wake the dead, the house was silent again. Silent, that is, except for the sound of the squeaking floorboards under Holden's body, shaking from silent sobs as he held Aria's body in his lap, stroking her hair and kissing her soft, unmoving face.


	55. An Understanding

"But what I don't understand," Toby said, "Is why you didn't just come out and tell me." He had been listening to Spencer explain herself for half an hour, and he was still staring at her in disbelief. They had been sitting on opposite sides of the bed, staring at each other and not touching.

"I couldn't," she whispered. "I couldn't risk you. . ."

"Me what? Me telling them?"

"Toby, who is them?"

"You know. . ." he trailed off. He cast his eyes down and said, "Them." with a shrug.

"TOBY, who the hell is them?" Spencer cried. "Toby, why can't you tell me? What the hell is there to lose anymore? I have lost my family, my friends, my SANITY. What is the damage in you telling me? Just tell me the truth. Or just SOME of the truth."

Toby looked up at her, his lips pressed tight together. "I haven't been in touch with them since before you disappeared. I told them I was done with everything, but they were. . . . pissed. I threatened them, saying I would reveal their secrets. And the leader said that if I ever came back, she would kill me. Me, and Emily, and Hanna, and Aria. Honestly, I don't care about my life any more, but I couldn't be the cause of their deaths."

"Then why are you back?"

"Because the leader. . ."

"TOBY, TELL ME WHO IT IS. TELL ME WHO IT IS, OR I AM WALKING OUT AND NEVER, EVER COMING BACK."

His eyes flashed as he whispered the name: "CeCe."

Something in Spencer's heart broke. After all this time, she finally knew who it was, who was finally behind it all. But when he said it, she knew it couldn't be true. "CeCe is the leader?" He nodded gently, and Spencer asked, "How did she rope you all in?"

"It started when she was in Radley. Her name used to be Candance, so no one recognizes her. And there was this charity that paired mental patients up with friends. She had four: me, Mona, Lucas, and Holden. We became. . . friends. All of us."

"Holden?"

Toby nodded. "Everyone had a reason to hate Alison, or her posey. CeCe did too, and she was able to tap into that and control us through our anger."

"But Toby, CeCe didn't even KNOW about Ali being her sister until recently."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you talking about?"

"She literally just found from Holden. He knew for years because it was on her medical files, but she didn't know until just know. "

Toby gasped. "Is that what that bitch told you? That is the biggest lie in the world. She's known for years. That's the whole reason why she hates you guys! Because Ali locked her up in Radley."

"WHAT?" Spencer gasped. This was making no sense. "Ali didn't even know she had a sister! The gave up CeCe when she was a baby."

"No, they didn't, Spencer. Is that what CeCe told you?" Spencer nodded, suddenly very unsure. "Spencer, they didn't give up CeCe for adoption until we were in 4th grade. And it's Ali's fault."

Spencer's mouth gaped open. Suddenly, she felt her phone buzz. _NOT NOW, _she wanted to scream as she opened the new text. Her blood went cold as she read the message:

**Looks like your pretty little friends are running out of time. Nice try, Spence, but they are as good as dead. -A**

Spencer cried out in horror, and Toby grabbed the phone and read her text. "She's going to kill them?" Spencer wailed. "I don't know what to do! I don't even know where they are."

But Toby looked at her mournfully and said, "Spence, get in the car. I know where she's taking them."

* * *

Meanwhile, Aria's mind was finally swimming back into consciousness. Her head was pounding like mad as her ears began to focus on her surroundings. She realized that she was in the back seat of a car, lying down, but she didn't dare open her eyes. The pounding in her head would only be intensified, she knew. She hated waking up from seizures because she always felt weak, stiff, and dizzy, and light would make it worse.

Somewhere far away, she could hear a voice, a male voice. The voice was sobbing, wailing. "I KILLED HER!" the voice the declared, a confession of guilt. "I KILLED ARIA!"

_What? _she thought. _Am I dead? Am I a ghost?_ But that couldn't be it. She pinched her fingers together to be sure, but she felt it. She was definitely in the back of a car, going somewhere.

She opened one eye as wide as she dared and saw Holden sitting in the front seat of the car, driving and crying like a crazy person. He was talking on the phone- SOBBING on the phone- to some one as he steered the car with fast, jerky moments.

"Lucas, don't tell CeCe!" he moaned. "She was having a seizure, and the taser slipped, and. . . and. . . it WENT OFF! She stopped moving, stopped BREATHING! Oh God, Lucas, I fucking KILLED ARIA!"

He broke down again into the phone, barely even looking at the road. Aria shut her eyes quickly, and her body went stiff. _He thinks he killed me._ The last thing that Aria could remember was the spots that formed in front of her eyes just after Spencer walked out. They always appeared just as she was about to have a seizure, and she remembered thinking to herself, _Holy shit, not again._

"I'm going to meet you guys there, I swear. I just need to, oh God, Lucas, I just need to breath for a second." Holden shut off the phone and threw it across the car, screaming as it shattered the passenger side window.

_Holden thinks I'm dead,_ Aria realized. _That means so does Lucas. That means so do a LOT of people. So let's keep it that way for a while. _


	56. A

Hanna let out a muffled scream through the duct tape over her mouth as her body hit the floor, hard. Emily landed next to her, tears running down her face and murder in her blindfolded eyes as her face smacked on the tile, HARD.

"Sit them up. I want them to see me." CeCe's bossy yet saccharine voice echoed through the tiny room as she command one of her minions. Emily couldn't see through her blindfold, but she felt hands pushing her upwards to a sitting position so she was leaning against a wall. Seconds later, Hanna felt the same hands shifting her similarly, but the hands lingered tenderly on her for a second too long, as if they cared for her.

The girls heard the noise of a door opening, most likely the same door the entered this small, unknown room from. "Holden," said CeCe's voice with irritation. "You seem to be missing something."

Emily was able to hear a soft sniffle. "I took care of it," someone said in a voice that was a sad, pathetic imitation of Holden Strauss.

"You took care of it? By it, do you mean Aria?"

"Her," he said, in a voice that got so quiet it was almost inaudible. "I took care of her. She's dead."

The words hit Emily and Hanna like they had been stabbed. Hanna gasped and started to scream, her body shaking even though her wrists and ankles were bound by rope. Emily howled and started thrashing and kicking, fighting the ropes. Suddenly, the rope around her wrists snapped. Emily ripped the blindfold off her eyes and didn't wince the she yanked the thick, silver duct tape over her mouth. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ARIA?"

Her eyes focused on the room around her as she ripped the blindfold and duct tape off of Hanna, her best friend gasping as the tape yanked her skin up. It took her a few seconds to realize where she was: they were inside Spencer's barn. The furniture was gone, but the wallpaper was still the same. CeCe, Mona, Holden, and Lucas were standing on the opposite of the room. CeCe looked pissed, Mona and Lucas looked scared, and Holden looked like he was about to break down crying. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER, HOLDEN?"

"It was an accident!" he cried, tears streaming down his face. CeCe ran up to Emily and pressed her arms against the wall. Emily fought her and managed to give CeCe a thick scratch on her cheek with her fingernail, causing CeCe to screech in pain and push Emily back so that her head hit the wall, _HARD_. She moaned and collapsed onto Hanna's shoulder, but the anger didn't leave her face. CeCe re-wrapped the rope on Emily's hands, but didn't put on her blindfold or put duct tape on her mouth. But this time, she slid Emily far across the room from Hanna so they couldn't touch.

"Well, you just made it faster," said CeCe, rolling her eyes as she stepped back from. "But it would be so much more fun with another person screaming. And where's Spencer?"

"We can just get her separately, Candance," said Lucas trying to run interference between her and Holden. "You know that she is going to come after us after tonight."

Emily growled. "What are you going to do to us?"

CeCe took a step forward towards the Emily and glared at her. "I am going to make you bitches pay for what you did. And I am going to make you suffer, suffer for the hell you put me through, put ALL of us through."

"CECE," cried Emily, "What did we ever do to you?"

"You made it easy," CeCe said menacingly, "For Ali to look like the normal sister. You made it easy for me to stay locked up, when Ali was the crazy one all along."

* * *

"Ali was the crazy sister?" asked Spencer. "No, no, that can't be true."

Toby jerked the steering wheel of his car and sped right through a red light. "She was. You know how CeCe was locked up for being violent and psychotic? That's because everyone thought she was abusing Ali. One day, her mom found cuts on Ali's wrists and a bloody razor hidden in CECE's pillow case. She did the math, but it was just what Ali wanted. One day right before they moved to Rosewood, she and CeCe were standing by their backyard pool when Ali grabbed CeCe's wrists. She screamed, and then threw herself into the pool."

"I don't understand."

"Ali couldn't swim. She almost drowned and she blamed CeCe. So her parents put "Candace" up for adoption. Her foster parents sent CeCe to Radley, and they never visited her. The DiLaurentises moved here to keep tabs on her, though."

"But I thought they never knew CeCe-"

"Yeah, well, they lied," growled. "Her name used to be Candace, and they grew up together. She changed her name when she went into foster care, lost a lot of weight, and died her hair blonde. She looks completely different than when she was a DiLaurentis, so it was no wonder that Ali didn't recognize her."

"And Ali-"

"Ali did everything she could to make people believe she was normal. She kept the game going all the way up until CeCe killed her. But really, Ali had it coming."

Spencer gasped. "And you STILL dated Ali?"

Toby glared at her. "CeCe didn't tell me the truth until after Ali died. You were friends with her! Maybe you should have noticed that she was certifiably insane."

"Not if what you told me in the hospital was true. Not if I was just some . . . some PROP to make her parents think she was normal." Spencer took a deep breath. Her house was 15 minutes away, and she needed to know what the hell she was walking into. "So, CeCe gets out of Radley, pissed as hell, and becomes friends with Ali, trying to get her old life as Candace back? After a while, Ali figures it out, so CeCe can't take it any longer and kills Ali?"

"Bingo. I guess a few lonely years in the loony bin with everyone saying you're crazy and actually turn you crazy. She even killed her foster parents so they don't give away the secret. She's also blackmailing the DiLaurentises to go alone with this whole lawsuit thing. But she blames you guys, too. She thinks that you guys made it so, so easy for Ali to pass as normal because you hung out with her."

"So now what? What is she going to do?"

Toby hesitated before respond. He turned his head away from Spencer and described the plan, the plan that had been in action since the day CeCe was released from Radley. "She's going to light the barn at your house fire with you guys inside. She's been planing it forever, and I guess she's finally going through with it."

Spencer gasped. "The BARN? Are you SERIOUS? She is going to let them burn to death? WHY?"'

Toby groaned and said, "Ali pushed her into a fireplace once when they were fighting. She said that the burns where the most painful thing she could ever remember, and she wants them to feel that much pain."

"HOW CAN SHE DO THIS? WE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! I HAVE TO STOP HER!"

Toby looked at the road ahead, not meeting Spencer's eyes. "She is crazy, Spencer. Crazy, do you understand? When we get there, you are going to call the cops, and I am going to go in there and stop it. You are staying far, far away."

"Toby, I am going in there. I am just as much a part of this as you are. Those are my best friends in that barn, so you are going to tell me what is happening."

"NO. Spencer, let me handle it, please."

"Toby, I am going in there, and you can't stop me."

"Spencer, no you're not!"

"WHY not?"

"_BECAUSE I CAN'T LOSE YOU_!" Toby took a breath, his chin quivering. "Spencer, I can't lose you again. Not again. You are staying safe, do you hear me? No matter what it takes, I am going to keep you safe."


	57. A Decision

**Sorry for waiting so long to update, but I was too busy fangirling over 3X16. In my opinion, the best episode in the whole series so far. I was literally crying and screaming during every Meredith or Toby scene. ANYONE ELSE EMOTIONALLY DYING OVER IT?**

**So, here is the next chapter:**

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"So, you see," CeCe said as she strolled around the room holding a matchbox, "I am going to take this match and strike it on this box. And then I am going to take that gasoline," she pointed to several large containers of propane set in the corner of the room next to Hanna, "And combine those two things. Then, I am going to leave, and let you see what happens next." CeCe giggled, shaking the box of matches around like they were a maraca. She had been explaining to Emily and Hanna what had happened to her, saying that "they deserved to know the truth before they went up in flames."

Mona laughed, but it sounded forced and nervous. Lucas slipped his hand into hers, and she noticed how sweaty they were. He was avoiding Hanna's gaze as she tried to meet his eyes.

"CECE," cried Emily. "This is all because we were friends with Ali?"

"IF IT WASN'T FOR YOU," CeCe screamed, "SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE LOCKED UP, NOT ME!" She started towards Emily as if she was going to smack her, but Holden grabbed her wrist. Lucas went over to Emily and put a patch of duct tape of her mouth, and then Hanna's.

"Ce, don't," Holden said. "Don't get angry."

She snapped her wrist back angrily. "Shut up, you useless little prick. You either do what I tell you, or you can go up in flames with them.

Mona and Lucas gasped, taken aback by her hostility. Holden turned pale, his chin quivering. She had NEVER spoken to him like that before, ever. Something inside him snapped, and he started to yell.

"Goddammit, CeCe," he yelled, "I love you! I love you, so why are you treating me like this?" It was silent for a few seconds before he continued. "CeCe, I only joined this messed up team because you said that Aria had to pay for the shit she put me through. You killed Ezra for me, so me and her could be together. I thought that was because you LIKED me."

Holden swallowed. "I screwed her over, so _we_ could be together. I have done everything I can to make you happy. Why don't you care about me?"

CeCe giggled. "Holden, you are SUCH a loser. How could you possibly think that I would want to be with someone like YOU? Even ARIA rejected you. You're just a pathetic little loser who killed his girlfriend. Deal with it."

All eyes were on Holden as his face contorted with anger. He sprinted towards CeCe with murder in his eyes, arms outstretched as if he were going to strangle her. Everyone in the room was frozen, especially CeCe. She didn't move a muscle as Holden came towards her and finally pounced on her. But he did not punch her, grab her, rip out her hair, because at the exact same moment he made contact with her, a bullet was fired.

It came from open doorway to the barn. Toby stood there, his arm tightly holding a pistol as if he had done it a thousand times before. His eyes were aimed on CeCe, but he hadn't seen Holden barreling towards her. If Holden had been just an inch shorter, or just a second slower, the bullet would have hit CeCe as intended.

But Holden was tall. And Holden was fast. The bullet hit him square in the back of the head, and he toppled over motionless onto CeCe, sending them both tumbling towards the floor.

* * *

Spencer bit her pinky nail nervously. It was a dirty habit and she knew it, but she had turned into a relentless nail biter in the last few months. She liked having something to do with her hands, and it was either that or yanking out her hair.

She watched nervously as Toby darted across her old lawn towards the barn, pistol in his hand. He said that CeCe had always talked about getting revenge on them in the barn, but she didn't see any signs of them except for a car parked on the other side of the street. He looked back at her from her place in the backseat of the car. _Lie down across the back seat_, he had told her, _as soon as I go inside. If something happens, they can't see you or you're dead._

_Toby, _she declared, not listening. _Please, don't do this. Let me go in with you, and I want to be with you._

_NO, Spencer. I won't let you. I won't let you go in and get hurt. Do you hear me? I love you to much for that to happen._

_Well, I love you too much to let you go without saying goodbye._ She leaned in and kissed him one last time before letting him go, possibly the last time ever. Tears welled in both of their eyes as they whispered "I love you" for what could have been the last time. After one last embrace, Toby dashed out of the car towards the barn.

He pointed to the ground with his index finger. "Down," he mouthed. Spencer nodded, blinking back tears. Was this the last time she would ever see him? She nodded, waved, and lay down flat on the seat, tears finally streaming down her cheeks.

_This is really happening, _she thought. _My best friends are in there, maybe in danger. Probably in danger. And I just sent in my boyfriend to go save them. What if CeCe stops him? What if she KILLS him?_

_What if she kills all of them?_

_She can't. She can't take them from me. This bitch has taken everything in my life that matters: my family, my sanity, my ivy league future, my community, my reputation, my entire life. Ali and CeCe have taken absolutely everything._

_No. Not everything. She is not going to take these people from me. _

_I won't let her._

_I'm going in. I don't care what Toby says. I am going in_.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Spencer sat up and looked outside towards the barn. She didn't see a thing, but the sound of the shot echoed through the night. She darted her head around, and her gaze landed on a dark, nimble figure. The figure was dashing towards the barn, and Spencer had no idea who it was.

_Who is that? And what are they going to do when they get inside? I am not waiting around in here. I am going to go and find out_.


	58. A Power

Toby saw stars as his head hit the floor under the weight of Lucas's body. Lucas tackled him just after the shot was fired. To Toby's surprise, the kid had toughened up since Toby'd seen him last. He could hear CeCe shrieking under Holden's bloody, lifeless body from across the room as Mona rushed to help her. Hanna and Emily let out muffled screams from their spots in the room, kicking and howling under the ropes that still bound them.

"Get off me," Toby growled, trying to wrestle Lucas off him. Lucas had Toby's shoulders pinned, and Toby grunted under his strong body. He gave Lucas a solid punch in the nose, and blood spilled out like fireworks. Toby shifted his weight, jerking to the side, and Lucas slipped off of him.

Toby went sprawling across the floor, rolling as far away from Lucas and CeCe as he could. He couldn't see anything, but when he hit the wall, he pressed his body up and sprang into a standing position. Self defense was his first instinct as he scrambled up against the wall, but then a sickening thought crossed his mind.

The gun. Holy fuck. Where'd the gun go? Afraid of the answer, he looked up. Mona was in the corner next to Hanna, cowering in fear, something he had never seen in the rock-hard girl. Holden lay on the floor next to them in a pile of his blood. Emily was on the far other side of the barn, kicking and screaming under the binding of ropes. Where were CeCe and Lucas?

"Move and I'll shoot," Lucas declared in a shaky voice, the gun pressed on Toby's head. CeCe cackled maliciously from across the room, and Lucas drew the gun back. He pointed it at her and screamed, "You too, CeCe. Neither of you move."

CeCe froze as Lucas paced backwards slowly, the gun held up with his finger on the trigger. Soon he was pressed against the wall, his arms shaking as he switched between pointing the gun at Toby and CeCe. "Shoot him, Lucas!" cried CeCe. "He ruined everything you worked for. It's crashing down because of him. He ruined the plans!" CeCe sounded weak and girly, as if she were a damsel in distress.

"Lucas, don't listen to her!" screamed Toby. "She has been manipulating you, torturing you, you can't-"

"SHUT UP! Lucas listen to me! I love you. It's you I love. I was lying to Holden. I love you!-"

"Lucas, she is still trying control you. She doesn't love you. She only wants to hurt you-"

"BOTH OF YOU QUIET!" Lucas screamed. "SHUT UP OR I KILL YOU BOTH!" He kept swiveling the gun between them, tears streaming down his face. "You have both been putting me through hell. You ALL have. And I finally have the power. So now you have to listen to ME. You respect me, or I kill you all."

"Lucas, no!" Mona screamed from her spot next to Hanna.

"QUIET MONA!" he screamed. "GODDAMMIT, I LOVE YOU. But I need them to listen right now. I haven't gotten anything out of this last year and a half. I WANT SOMETHING. Some fucking compensation for being your goddam gopher."

The room was silent except for Hanna's screaming and moaning through her duct taped mouth, tears streaming down her face. Mona ripped it off her, unsure of what else to do.

"Lucas, I'm sorry," she wailed, choking on her own tears. Lucas turned to her, gun still held strong. "This is all my fault. You loved me, and I threw you away like trash. I was a terrible person. You are so, so great and you didn't deserve it. That was the greatest mistake of my life, choosing Sean Ackard over you. I am so, so sorry. I made you like this, bitter and angry. This is all MY fault. Forgive me."

Lucas pointed the gun back at CeCe, then Hanna, then CeCe, then Toby, then Hanna. His hands were shaking as his movements grew faster and faster and his posture shakier. He looked between all of them, trying to decide his next move. For the first time in his life, he had the power. He was the one in control. And he had no idea how to use that control. It made his head hurt.

Suddenly, his head was REALLY hurting, as if someone had hit it hard with something. Because, in fact, some one had.

Somewhere in his mind, he could hear Mona crying his name. He could hear Hanna screaming to Aria as the tiny, nimble girl came up behind him holding a brick. He could hear the brick hitting the floor after Aria smacked it against his head. He could hear the gun firing as his fingers slipped onto the trigger as he fell to the floor. But the only sound he could focus on was the sound of the explosion as the bullet hit the plastic container full of oil, sparks flying all through the room.


	59. A Danger

**Hey, so my exams are this week so I have been updating REALLY slowly. Sorry. Only three-ish more chapters to go!**

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The fire shot several feet in the air within seconds, and on instinct, Toby jumped back. His heart took off like a helicopter as he watched the world around him become engulfed in flames. But when he heard to screams around him, he realized that it was his job to get everyone out safely. Hanna and Emily were both tied up, Lucas was out cold, and there was no way that tiny Mona could lift anyone up. It was his duty to make sure they didn't all burn to death.

In the time that it took him to snap back to life, the fire had consumed the majority of the room. He dashed towards where Hanna, Emily and Mona were sitting. He found Emily at a safe distance from the center of the flames, but Hanna and Mona were much closer. He squinted into the fire and found Mona with her body splayed over Hanna as if she was protecting her. Thick burns had scarred Mona's back, and she screamed in pain. After a few seconds, he realized that Mona WAS protecting Hanna. She must have thrown herself onto of Hanna to save her.

Toby went to grab Mona, but as soon as he lifted her, she yelled to him, "No!" She shifted so he was looking her in the eye. "I'll be fine. Save them!" Toby threw her across the room so she was away from the center of the fire, and she screamed in pain as she rolled across the floor. He bent down to pick up Hanna, still bound by rope. Her eyes were full of fear as Toby sprinted out the door with her in his arms, and he could feel her tiny body shaking in his strong arms. When he was a safe distance away from the barn, he placed her down on the grass and ran back towards the barn, back towards the burning hell.

The flames were thicker, and it was harder to breathe and see. He ripped off his shirt and wrapped it around his face to protect it from smoke, and he dashed inside. He felt flames licking his bare chest as he picked up a wailing Emily and dashed back outside. She was bigger and heavier than the slight and petite Hanna, and it exhausted him. He sprinted away from the barn and placed her on the ground next to breathed a sigh of relief when he dropped her to the ground, unable to breath or think after running through the thick fire while carrying Emily.

"Toby," wailed Hanna. "Save Mona and Lucas. Please." _And go back in there? Back in the flames? I could die!_ But he thought of how Mona risked her life for Hanna, how Mona insisted that Toby rescue Hanna and Emily before her. _She really does love Hanna, _he realized. _She really did care about Hanna, and I can't let her die._

Toby nodded, and dashed back to the barn. He found Aria slowly dragging Mona out of the barn, Mona's body wrapped around Aria's shoulders. Mona was tiny, but Aria was even smaller. It was a struggle for her to get Mona alone, and the two were unsteady as the shuffled away from the flames. Aria was shaking under the weight of Mona's body, and she couldn't have even been 100 pounds.

"Lucas is still inside," said Aria as Mona moaned. "I'm not strong enough to carry him." Mona's eyes were pleading, silently begging Toby to rescue Lucas. No matter what anyone else thought, Lucas and Mona were totally in love. He owed it to Mona to save him. If she hadn't ripped the duct tape off Hanna's mouth, Lucas might have shot him.

But the fire was so BIG. Toby was barely able to breathe when he went to get Emily, and it was cooking twice as hot now. If he went back in, there was no telling if he'd ever come back out.

Toby swallowed and tried his hardest to let his mind go blank. _This is it,_ he thought. _This is my chance to make up for being a coward. I can be brave, or I can let Spencer die- LUCAS die. I can chose to be brave. _Taking a deep breath, Toby lightly kissed Mona on the forehead and dashed back in.

The flames were twice as thick as they were before, and Toby was coughing as he searched for Lucas. He stumbled around blindly for a few minutes jumping in between six, seven foot flames trying to find the boy, but his efforts seemed to be useless. He could feel his mind clouding from lack of air, and he was sweating when he finally found Lucas, curled up in a ball with flames dancing from his shirt.

Toby scooped Lucas into his arms, but he was heavier than either of the girls. He would have screamed out to God if not for the lack of air. He stumbled as he dashed out the door with Lucas in his arms, and as Toby approached the girls on the far side of the lawn, he dug his foot into a hole in the ground.

Lucas went flying as Toby hit the ground. Something in his ankle snapped, and Toby howled in pain. "Toby, are you okay?" cried Emily. Aria was struggling to untie the ropes around the girls while they sobbed.

"I'm fine," he moaned, although he clearly wasn't. "Aria, Spencer's in my car. Go get her. She'll help you untie them."

Aria shook her head. "I just looked in your car for a pocket knife. She's not there."

Toby gasped. "Goddammit, I told her to stay fucking in the car. Where did she go?"

Hanna was disoriented as she moaned, "Someone ran in their earlier, calling your name. I didn't see who, but it might have been . . . Spencer."

Aria and Toby both gasped. Spencer had gone back into the flames, looking for Toby and Aria. The flames were so thick and loud that they probably walked right past each other. And now, Spencer was still inside the burning building, looking for people she would never find.

Aria gazed at the crowd around her. Emily and Hanna were both in hysterics, unable to move. Lucas was out cold, Toby probably broke his ankle, and Mona's body was almost unrecognizable under the red, bleeding, blistering burns. Aria was the only one who had walked out without a scratch. And now Spencer was inside, ready to die to protect these people who were already out of harm's way.

Without a second thought, Aria dashed back towards the flames that had already consumed the majority of the barn, knowing that Spencer was somewhere inside.


	60. An Everything

**Apologies for waiting so long to post this chapter, but it is the climax of the story. There is only one chapter left after this one and an epilogue, and I spent a lot of time working on this one to get it right. Please tell me what you think because I have spent the last three days agonizing about making it perfect. Enjoy :)**

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Aria was choking on smoke as she ducked under the door of the barn. _I've lost all my senses_, she realized as the heat swelled around her. She couldn't hear because the fire roared loudly over her calling Spencer's name. She couldn't see the because the black smoke was a thick cloud everywhere she looked. She couldn't touch because her skin would blister off immediately with the contact. This could be it. This could be the end.

Aria blindly walked through the smoldering barn as quickly as she dared, still screaming for Spencer. But when she opened her mouth, smoke filled her lungs. It felt as if the fire was coming from within her. Aria suddenly felt weak and dizzy due to the lack of oxygen. Within seconds, she was dry-heaving, then full on vomiting. Without thinking, she pressed her hand to the wall for support as she choked.

She drew it back instantly, screaming in pain. She inspected her hand and saw fat, red blisters all over her palm. Aria tried not to panic, tried not to lose her shit, but the pain was overwhelming and it looked just as bad as it felt. Remembering Spencer, still somewhere in the barn, Aria let out a low moan just once, shoved her palm under her armpit, and kept going.

"Spencer!" she screamed. "Eloise! Spencer! Answer me!" Tears streamed down her face as she stepped through the mass of flames around her as quickly as she dared. Her efforts seemed to be futile; the smoke was so thick and the flames stopped her from moving to a large part of the barn. The place was huge, and Spencer could be anywhere.

But she had to keep looking. She knew she might die, would probably die, but she couldn't give up. She thought of how Spencer returned during her worst time, the times of midnight panic attacks and no desire to keep going. Spencer came back for her when she was in danger, and there was no way she would be able to live with herself if she didn't repay the favor.

Suddenly, a noise came as her salvation. In the distance, she heard screams that sounded a lot like Spencer. It was coming from the far wall, near the tanks of propane.

"ARIA!" Spencer howled from her place on the floor. As Aria sprinted closer, she could see thick, red welts across Spencer's arms, legs, and torso that ripped through her clothing. Her back was pressed against a barn wall, splintering chunks of wood sticking out of it. She was yelling something, but Aria couldn't understand. The heat was unbearable as Aria knelt next down next to Spencer trying to grab her. "Spence, it's okay! I'm here!"

"Aria, it's a trap!"

Her eyes went as wide as quarters as someone reached a hand around her neck and grabbed her. On instinct, Aria thrust her head up, bopping whoever it was on the chin. Their grip slackened, and Aria jerked forward. She spun around and faced her attacker: it was CeCe.

Her flowing blond hair was singed black on the end. Red welts similar to Spencer's danced on her arms. Her face was contorted into an expression that was part sneer, but snarl. And there was murder in her eyes as she leapt towards Aria, arms outstretched.

They locked wrists and shoved each other for a few moments while Aria couldn't help but think, _Damn_. _This is a pretty girly way to have a fight to the death_. They shoved each other like that with all their weight, unable to have any real fight surrounded by so many flames. It was ridiculous, but both were weakened by lack of air and in searing pain, so shoving was all the could manage

Soon, towering CeCe was able to knock tiny, demure Aria off her balance, and Aria went sprawling to the floor, rolling through a burning puddle of propane. Her ankle twisted as she fell to the floor, and her clothing immediately caught fire, the flames seeping through the fabric to her skin.

Aria screamed as the fire burned her back. The pain was intense and white hot, more painful than when she snapped her arm falling out of a tree, more painful than the time she stepped on a razor blade by accident, more painful than when she hit her head falling down the stairs. She rolled away as quickly as she could, straight into Spencer's limp, moaning body. She could hear CeCe cackling as she slipped her hand into Spencer's and squeezed hard.

"CeCe, why are you doing this?" Spencer wailed as she clutched Aria's hand. She pressed herself against the wall for support and moved into a sitting position, still holding Aria's hand. She pulled Aria up next to her so the two were side by side against the wall. Aria leaned onto Spencer's shoulder, gasping and choking for air as they stared at CeCe through the smoke.

CeCe took a step closer, her nostrils flaring. "You bitches ruined my life. It's because of you that I was locked up. YOU were the ones who made it so easy for Ali to keep her normal girl façade going. You blinded Jenna, Ezra's younger sister. You got Toby sent away. You bullied Mona and Lucas. It's all your fault! AND YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!"

"NO, CeCe, we didn't!" Aria cried. "Ali did all of that stuff. We didn't do anything!"

Her eyes flashed from light blue to dark, thick navy. "You had the choice to stop her. But you stood by, letting her do it."

Suddenly, she pulled something off the floor. It was another large container of propane. "You are going to pay," she growled. She unscrewed the lid, slowly, and it dawned on Aria and Spencer what she was going to do: she was going to pour the propane on them and let them burn to death. Neither of them were strong enough to stand up, let alone run. Neither would be able to put up a fight. They were going to die.

Fear shot through Aria, but she didn't scream. The extreme heat around her subsided, and she began to feel very, very cold. This was it. The moment they would die. It would be slow and painful, burning to death. Fire fighters would find her and Spencer's charred bodies as they dug through the still smoldering ashes. They would still be holding hands, their corpses needing to be ripped apart. CeCe would escape, and Aria would go to her grave, secrets snuggled with her in her coffin.

But as Spencer felt the heat swirling around her, flame tickling her exposed burns, she realized that she absolutely couldn't care less. She had been dead for months, really. What was the point of going on? As she wrapped her fingers through Aria's, she realized the only thing that mattered to her was she was with someone she loved, loved like a sister, loved more than anyone else in the universe, in her last moments. Aria was there, and that was all that mattered.

She gave Aria's hand a tight squeeze, and the squeeze told everything she was thinking to Aria in a way only best friends could understand. Aria squeezed her back in response and whispered so quietly that only Spencer could hear, "I love you, Spencer." Tears were streaming down her face, and not just because of the pain.

"Team Sparia to the end," Spencer whispered back through her sobs as she watched CeCe unscrew the lid. Tears ran down both of their faces as the sat there, waiting for death to come. But with Aria's tiny shaking hand in hers, Spencer couldn't help think that if she had to burn to death with only one person beside her, there would be no one else she wanted in the world but Aria. And as Aria's teeth chattered, giving away her terror, she was so grateful that Spencer was there with her, staying with her and keeping her safe until the end.

But suddenly, there was a heavy, moaning sound, like someone was groaning. A few tiny fireballs and then a few larger ones shot through the air as a beam from the ceiling plummeted to the ground. Chunks of burning wood splintered off, coming straight for them. CeCe thrust the gallon of propane in front of her in defense. One fireball went straight towards her, but didn't hit her. It hit the tiny hole in the top of the container where CeCe had removed the lid, and it bounced in.

All three of the girls' eyes shot open. There was a soft sizzling noise for the smallest fraction of a second when the fire made contact with the oil. But suddenly, a loud boom filled the barn, and Aria and Spencer were flying backwards through the air as the barn wall split off after the explosion, their hands still intertwined.


	61. An Escape

**This is the last chapter in the present day. I know it ends with a lot of questions, but the epilogue answers them I promise. Thank you everyone for reading. My next story shall be posted very, very soon.**

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Aria felt the wooden wall beneath her splintering and stabbing into her back as she hit the ground. She turned her eyes away from the blinding light in front of her and looked at Spencer. Her eyes and mouth were wide open as she watched the barn in front of her lighting up like fireworks.

Suddenly, the two of them realized what had happened. The tank of propane that CeCe was holding had exploded, causing the barn wall to fly backwards. Aria and Spencer had flown through the air with it and landed on top of it several yards away from the explosion. The two girls realized at the same moment that they hadn't stopped holding hands while the flew through the air, and they were still intertwined.

Spencer snapped back to life before Aria did as her hand fell onto a splinter off wood. She pinched Aria's hand even more tightly and groaned. "We have to run!"

She pulled herself to her feet, yanking Aria up with her. Searing pain shot through every inch of her as the two of them hobbled off of what was once the wooden wall of the barn, heading as far away as they could. When they were a safe distance away, they collapsed on the soft grass in each other's arms. The air whipped cold around them, a contrast to the heavy heat that consumed them minutes before. Coughing, injured, and frightened, the two rested for a moment. They had escaped. They were alive. And they were together. But they could only appreciate it for a fraction of a second before they heard some one screaming in the distance.

"Aria! Spencer!" Two figures came running towards them from around the other side of the barn. Hanna and Emily were sprinting and yelling and crying as they flew across the grass towards the two girls on the ground. Emily was faster, in top shape from swim season, reaching Aria and Spencer before Hanna did.

"Aria, Spencer, oh God, thank God, you're okay." Emily sobbed as she grabbed the two of them by the shoulders and enveloped them in a hug. Aria shook under Emily's strong arms. Hanna reached them seconds later, huffing and puffing as she approached.

"Spencer? What are you doing here?" Hanna yelled as she was running. She fell to the ground several feet from the girls, weak and exhausted, and crawled to them on her hands and knees.

Spencer didn't respond, just pulled Hanna in close to her. They were so in shock that they all cried even harder. Emily pulled Spencer into the hug tighter, and Hanna reached them and joined in. The girls were together at last, for the first time in months and possibly the last time.

The rest of the world didn't matter to them as they embraced. Nothing matter except that they were together. They didn't hear the fire roaring in the distance or the sirens approaching from down the street. They didn't move, didn't look up at the burning fire across the yard from them, the light so bright it was blinding. They didn't even look up when the fire trucks came, or when firefighters started ripping them apart.

"NO!" Spencer screamed, holding onto Aria's hand even tighter than she had before. "I WON'T LET GO!" And she wouldn't. After everything she had been through, she couldn't let Aria leave her again. She refused to let go. But a strong firefighter ripped them apart, despite Spencer's frantic wails.

"Are you okay?" one yelled to Spencer. "Can you hear me?" Spencer nodded, tears streaming down her face. She reached for the other girls, all being loaded onto stretchers and being put into different ambulances, far away from her. It felt like they couldn't hear her scream.

But Aria looked back at her, and a look passed between their eyes. _It's okay, _Aria mouthed to Spencer. Hearing just those words, Spencer gave in and stopped fighting the strong men pulling them apart.

The man clad in firefighter gear lifted her into his arms as if she were weightless. She sprinted across the grass until he reached another ambulance, not even looking tired. He placed her onto a stretcher and she was loaded into the vehicle, her body shaking vigorously. Spencer could see Mona, Lucas, and Toby all being loaded into ambulances in the distance, and men with hoses pumped streams of water at the smoldering barn.

"SPENCER!" Toby yelled from his place across the lawn. His arm was drapped over another another fire fighter as the man helped him hobble towards an ambulance. "I LOVE YOU SPENCER!" he screamed. "I WON'T LET ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU!" Somewhere, deep down, she knew that she should be melting from those words. But Spencer didn't respond; her mind was swirling and confused from lack of oxygen.

The doors of the ambulance slammed closed and a few men and women leaned over her. One pressed a mask onto her face and yelled to her, "We're taking you to the hospital. We're giving you oxygen and treating your burns." She felt clean air, sweet, clean, fresh air pumping into her lungs, and the EMTs were wiping her burns and pressing cotton to them. "Sweetie, you're going to be okay. Can you tell me your name?"

_My name? _thought Spencer. _Who gives a shit what my name is? I just had a fight to the death in a burning building. If my name was Ashley, Betty, Carolyn, Dianne, it wouldn't have made a difference. _

_My name is just a title. I still lived through that, and no matter what my name was, I still did it. If I was Spencer or Eloise, it would have made no difference. I still lived through that._

_ My name is not me. My name is not who I am. MY NAME IS NOT THE ONLY THING I AM._

_I don't have to give into my name. Spencer Hastings was the name of a different person than who I am today. I control who I am, and I control my fate. _

Spencer coughed and pressed the mask away for a second. "Eloise," she wheezed. "My name is Eloise Fitzgerald."


	62. An Epilogue

"Hey, guys, guess who's here!" Emily cried, opening the oak door of a modest sized house in upstate New York. She had just returned from the airport to pick up their friend, who was gleefully waltzing in the door as if she hadn't visited just a month prior.

"AUNT ARIA!" a tiny, cherub cheeked boy yelled as he came barreling towards the front door. He shoved passed Emily, clad in her camouflage uniform, and nearly knocked Aria over. For a three-year-old, he was considerably strong.

"Peter, I missed you!" Aria declared warmly as she scooped the grinning toddler into her arms, letting her suitcases fall the floor around her. She kissed the little boy on his cheeks and inspected his button nose, his sandy colored hair, his tiny cleft chin. "You look more and more like you're daddy every day."

Toby came by and scooped his son out of Aria's arms. "Peter Wren Cavenaugh, get back in here and finish your dinner," Toby gently chastised. The toddler protested, and over his whines Toby yelled, "Nice to see you again, Aria." He awkwardly wrapped his free arm around her and kissed her on the cheek before retreating into the kitchen to leave the women to catching up.

Hanna excitedly ran up from her spot on the couch and was the second person to smash Aria in a giant hug. "Aria, I've missed you so much!" she squealed, hugging her friend tightly.

Aria sighed warmly as she embraced her friend. "You too, Han. How's big, bad California?"

Hanna pulled back and smiled brightly. "It's amazing, Aria. Becoming a journalist is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Yes, yes, yes, we've heard it a thousand times," Emily mocked playfully. Her voiced turned dramatic as she described Hanna's trials and tribulations. "Hollywood starlet-to-be, knocked up in college by her longtime boyfriend, struggles to get her journalism degree with supporting her husband's climb to the top of Apple's ladder AND mothering twin girls, while still trying to find the perfect haircut-"

Hanna smacked her playfully. "You make my life sound like a LifeTime movie."

"Now that you mention it, where are Violet and Rose?" said Aria, peering around the corner. "I haven't seen any identical tiny blonde tornados yet."

"Caleb's bringing them later. He'll be here with them tomorrow."

"Why didn't you all come out together?" asked Aria, curiously. "Junior Vice President of Apple Inc. get held up autographing iPads?"

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Hanna sighed and walked over to the couch. She collapsed dramatically and groaned loudly. "He found out about my secret bank account and he's pissed."

Aria walked over and sat down next to her. She wrapped her arm around Hanna and said, "Are you talking about the one you use to send money to Mona and Lucas?"

Hanna nodded, rolling her eyes. "Lucas is happy as a photographer, and Mona is happy as housewife, but her reconstructive surgeries are expensive. She saved my life. It's the least I can do to help her pay for surgeries to heal the burns."

Emily nodded and rubbed her friend's back. "Hanna, Caleb is crazy about you. Just explain to him, and he'll understand."

Hanna nodded sadly, but suddenly brightened. "Enough about me. Emily, tell Aria and I about _war_."

Emily laughed. "You make it sound so glamorous."

"But it is," declared Hanna. "You get to wear those adorable camo outfits, and meet so many cool people, and-"

"Hanna, you know that Paige and I didn't join the army to wear camo. OR to meet people. We joined to help people." Hanna started to contradict her, but Emily interrupted and asked, "So Aria, when is the fiancé joining us?"

Aria smiled as she twisted her diamond ring around her finger. It sparkled and threw rainbow prisms all over the room. "He had to stay at the museum today, some kind of benefit going on there, but he's coming tomorrow."

Hanna raised her eyebrows. "Oh, how scandalous. The young, budding artist, all on her own in the cluttered NYC, hooks up with the big-shot museum director."

Aria shot her a smile of irritation. "Wesley is not just a museum director, Hanna. I've known him for years."

"And the story is so JUICY! He comes to you in your time of need, while both of you come to terms with your tragic loss-"

"Nope," Aria said, her lips pressed together in a tight smile. "He committed a federal crime for me and Spencer, and we hardly ever talk about Ezra. So no, Hanna, you may not do a story on our illicit romance and have it end up in the San Francisco Times."

Hanna pouted, but Emily started laughing. "You know we're happy for you, right?" Emily said. "But we always need to poke a little fun."

"Em, he's not just my fiancé. He's more than that. He's. . . " Aria blushed, trailing off, unable to say what she was thinking: _He's the father of my child_. She wasn't due for 7 more months, but she was already making plans. She hoped to tell the girls later, but she couldn't detract for the star of this weekend's festivities.

"He's the man who saved your best friend's butt?" asked Hanna bluntly.

"Yes, he is the man who saved my '_sister-in-law's_' butt. If he hadn't been willing to forge her identity, then who knows what would have happened?" Aria flashed back to the night where she and Spencer made the call to Wesley, explaining everything.

* * *

"_Wait, she's ALIVE?" Wesley asked in disbelief from the other side of the phone._

_"Yes," whispered Aria, praying that her dad was actually asleep. About a week after the DiLaurentis's big announcement, Aria and Spencer both decided that they needed a back up plan in case something went wrong. Aria had only come up with this idea hours ago, and it was worth a shot to protect her friend. "But she's in danger. Do you think you can do this for us?"_

_"Aria, what exactly are you asking?"_

_Aria sighed and said, "I'm asking that if something happens to her, or if something goes wrong with her identity checking out, that she can have a back up one. If she says that she is a member of the most prestigious family in Philly, no one would dare try take her down if something unraveled."_

_"Why would anything like that happen?"_

_"Wes," said Spencer, grabbing the phone from Aria. "This would only be as a back up measure. You had a sister a year older than you, right?"_

_Wesley only mumbled a response. His parents had kept his big sister a secret from him until he was old enough to understand what Sudden Infant Death was. It was heartbreaking for him to know that he had a big sister who he would never meet. His parents had wanted to keep the story quiet, and very few people knew about the girl. The very grim benefit was that it was working out perfectly for Spencer._

_"Let me take her identity," said Spencer. "That way in case something goes wrong, I will have a giant, rich, famous family to back me up."_

_"What about my parents?"_

_"Tell them that you are calling in a favor for a friend," said Aria, taking the phone back. "For me. Please, Wesley?"_

_He sighed; it was impossible to say no to Aria. But there was one thing weighing on his mind. "But what exactly are you expecting to go wrong?"_

_Aria thought for a moment before responding. "Maybe, Wes, if nothing goes wrong, than I'll tell you one day over drinks."_

* * *

"It's a miracle that he even still dated me after everything I asked of him," said Aria, thinking of how much Wesley did for her: illegally changing the name on the birth certificate to Eloise, begging his parents to allow Spencer to take the name, smoothly handling every question from the police after the fire. "He must like me a lot to deal with such a screwed up person."

Emily looked at her in a judgey way that only a best friend could. "Aria, you are not screwed up. You had a few hard years, but you're back on your feet."

"And the guy is marrying you," Hanna interjected. "He can't think you're _that_ screwed up."

Aria and Emily laughed. "Well, as much as we'd all love to hear about your and Wesley's up and coming illicit romance," Emily said, shifting the attention away from Aria's blushing cheeks, "We happen to be neglecting the girl of honor."

Aria smiled brightly. "Where is she? I've been dying to meet her. Pictures just aren't the same."

Hanna smiled. "Resting with her mommy. She said to bring you in when you got here."

Aria followed Emily and Hanna past the kitchen, where Toby was filling up his son's sippy cup with milk. They weaved by the dining room, where the table Toby had built as an engagement present to his wife was covered in boxes and balloons from Babies r Us. After passing by the guest room where the baby's mother had relentlessly fluffed the pillows in preparation for the arrival of Peter and Veronica Hastings, proud grandparents of yet another smiling baby, the girls had reached the master bedroom. A familiar girl was lying on the bed, a thick cocoon of blankets in her arms.

"Aria!" the girl said as a smile covered her face. The brown birthmark on her cheek rose as she smiled, and she flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Aria said, sitting down gently on the bed next to her and wrapping her arms around her best friend. She peered at the bundle of blankets resting in her best friend's arms. Nestled in a pink cocoon sat a tiny baby girl, fresh-faced and bright. She was only a few days old, but her brown eyes sparkled with a gleam just like her mommy's. "Oh, she is _beautiful_. The most beautiful baby girl in the world. What did you and Toby decide to name her?"

"Toby wanted to name her after strong women who had died. Keep names alive and all that. He said it's a family tradition. So her name is Nadia, after Toby's mother."

'"_Nadia_,"' whispered Aria dreamily. "Oh, that's beautiful. It's too bad Toby's family won't meet her."

The girl shook her head. "Toby won't take the risk. He said it's dangerous having even my parents here."

Aria frowned. "But Eloise, don't they want to meet you?"

"Of course they do, but we can't risk me being revealed. If some one found out I was using a dead girl's social security number, I could be in jail, and Peter and Nadia won't have a mommy. I could never do that to them."

Aria nodded knowingly. Eloise had stopped altering her appearance, but she still had to keep in hiding. All she wanted was to live a happy life with Toby and her children, far away from the drama of her past. She never visited Rosewood, not even for CeCe's and Holden's funerals. The only connections she had to her past were through her friends, her "brother," and the occasional visit from her parents.

Eloise smiled at Aria and whispered, "I'm so glad that you guys all came."

Hanna smiled and said, "Eloise, we wouldn't miss this for the world." Emily nodded, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

Aria squeezed Eloise's hand tightly. "We will always be here for you. No matter what happens."

Eloise smiled brightly, but then gasped. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you her middle name."

Aria's eyes widened. "What is it, El?"

"It goes with the whole, 'remembering the great ones who are gone' theme that Toby is pushing for."

"Eloise, tell me! What is it? What's her middle name?"

Eloise looked down at her baby girl. She was so tiny, so full of promise. Eloise wanted to give her a middle name that represented how strong, how brave she wanted her daughter to be. So, she gave her the name of the strongest, bravest person she could think of, someone she still tried her hardest to be. Some one who represented the struggles of her past, while still reminding her that she controlled her own future. Some one who did not define who she was today, but some one she couldn't imagine living without. Someone who was gone, but not forgotten:

"Spencer."

* * *

**I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story. It makes me so sad to post the final chapter. I had literally been working up the courage to post this story for months and have been perfecting it for a long time. I will post the first chapters of two new, different stories sometime soon. Please let me know which one you are more interested in after I post them, so I can update that one faster. Also, would you prefer longer chapters with slow updates, or shorter chapters with fast updates? Thank you for your continued support. It means a lot to me every time I get a review. Every review makes me so happy and encourages me to keep going. I don't know if you realize how much those reviews mean to me. Thank you everyone. **

**-A girl with a laptop**


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